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THE ESSENTIALS OF 
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 



BY 

CHARLES WILLIAM HEATHCOTE 

u 

a. m. (Univ. of Penn.) s. t. d. (Temple Univ.) 

Instructor of Religious Education 
Theological Department, Temple University 



INTRODUCTION BY 

RUSSELL H. CONWELL, D. D., LL. D. 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 

1916 







Copyright, 1916 
Sherman, French &> Company 



3>CI.A445563 

n^6 I • 






i 



TO 

MY WIFE 

BY WHOSE HELP THIS BOOK 

HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE 

IT IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED 



INTRODUCTION 

The heart of humanity comes back to the 
Bible as the tide to the shore. The critics who 
would kill the Bible to find the spirit defeat 
themselves; the Truth will survive and prevail. 
Dr. Heathcote in this book recognizes clearly 
the spirit of eternal Truth which permeates and 
sustains the life of the dear old Book. 

But the author is not only a scholar and a 
skillful instructor; he is a direct benefactor. 
All books having the purpose combined with 
clear thinking bring the Bible nearer the people 
and awaken their desire to know its contents. 

It has the Master's method of teaching teach- 
ers and sending out missionaries. Every such 
effort has the approval and encouragement of 
all lovers of humanity, and when it has the char- 
acter and scholarship shown in this book, it 
makes all its Christian readers glad. 

Russell H. Conwell. 



PREFACE 

This text-book is the outgrowth of the lectures 
given to my students at the Temple University dur- 
ing the last several years. A large number of the 
students, and others outside of the University, inter- 
ested in religious education, have frequently re- 
quested me to prepare a book on the subject. To 
meet this request the book has been written. 

The volume has been prepared for students in uni- 
versities, colleges, and theological seminaries, who 
are interested in the religious pedagogical courses, 
and is primarily a text-book, since it was desired to 
place in the hands of students a book dealing particu- 
larly with the subject of religious education. It is 
believed that the book will meet this need and require- 
ment. 

I have not been unmindful of the large army of 
faithful and active Bible School teachers who are 
anxious by careful reading and study to better pre- 
pare themselves for their noble work, and I hope this 
work will prove helpful to them also. 

To the many friends, Christian teachers, and in- 
structors who have helped by their advice I am very 
grateful. 

Charles William Heathcote. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Scope of Religious Education . 1 
II History of Religious Education: the 

Early Period 17 

III History of Religious Education: the 

Middle Period 50 

IV History of Religious Education: the 

Later Period 71 

V History of Religious Education: the 

Later Period (Concluded) . . .104 
VI Principles of Psychology . . . .116 

VII Child Development 133 

VIII Periods of Development: Early Child- 
hood 146 

IX Periods of Development: Later Child- 
hood — Six to Twelve Years . . .158 
X Periods of Development: the Adoles- 
cent ..... 167 

XI The Teacher's Requisites .... 187 
XII Preparation and Teaching . . . .196 

XIII Questions and Illustrations . . .211 

XIV Bible Study 224 

XV The Bible School Organized . . . 234 

XVI Order 253 

XVII Graded Lessons 264 

XVIII Summary of the Graded Courses . . 270 

Bibliography 279 

Index 287 



CHAPTER I 

THE SCOPE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

The Definition — Religion and Education — The 
Factors — The School — The Home — The Church. 

THE DEFINITION 

Dr. Coe says the factors involved in the idea of 
education are these : " An immature being, a goal 
or destiny for life, and the older human beings 
who can help the younger to realize this goal or 
destiny." 1 Dr. Coe also shows that at times, par- 
ticularly in the past, educators over-emphasized 
the adult viewpoint, the goal and the child. In 
other words, so much stress was laid upon adult 
experiences that these results became the standards 
of education. Adult views are necessary for educa- 
tional development, but to lay undue emphasis upon 
them to the exclusion of other ideas will prevent genu- 
ine progressive growth. Naturally the goal sought 
after under such circumstances was to over-em- 
phasize the destiny of man. This was the view of 
medieval education. Religious education then, under 
the control of the church, was fostered along narrow 
lines of development. Medieval religion as well as 
education were not " broad enough to include every- 
thing that is worthy of being a part of our temporal 
life." Religion and education alike had as their goal 
the salvation of souls from eternal punishment. 

i Education- in Religion and Morals, pages 11 and 12. 

1 



2 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Guided by these narrow ideals, educators forgot 
to take into account the child life as one of the chief 
elements in the development of education. However, 
modern educators such as Pestalozzi, Froebel, and 
others brought out the importance of studying the 
child mind. They recognized the fact that for edu- 
cation to accomplish the most for mankind it must be 
cognizant of the laws and experiences of childhood as 
well as of the adult life. Education is a progressive 
development in which the whole personality is in- 
volved. 

During the last few years so much has been writ- 
ten about the importance of child study that it has 
been over-emphasized. It has resulted in a tendency 
to lose sight of the real purpose of child education. 
At the present time we note a change coming in the 
educational world. The study of child life is coming 
to its proper place and sphere. 

In view of this discussion the question arises, what 
is education? It will be in order to give the opinions 
of several prominent educators. 

" Education is the sum of the reflective efforts 
by which we aid nature in the development of the 
physical, intellectual and moral faculties of man, in 
view of his perfection, his happiness, and his social 
destination." — J. G. Compayre : Lectures in 
Pedagogy (Boston, 1893), pages 1-6. 

iC If education cannot be identified with mere in- 
struction, what is it? What does the term mean? I 
answer, It must mean a gradual adjustment to the 
spiritual possessions of the race." — Butler : The 
Meaning of Education, page 17. 

" The true end of teaching is one with the true 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 3 

aim of life; and each lesson must be presented with 
the conscious purpose of making the most out of the 
life of the one taught." — Arnold Tompkins : The 
Philosophy of Teaching, page 71. 

" Education, in short, cannot be better described 
than by calling it the organization of acquired habits 
of conduct and tendencies to behavior." — William 
James : Talks to Teachers, page 29. 

These definitions which we have quoted give the 
viewpoint of educators in general. Present day edu- 
cational principles are the outgrowth of the develop- 
ment of the progress of the world in the past. Pres- 
ent and past achievements for the truth lay the foun- 
dations for the future. History shows that educa- 
tional progress has advanced along two great lines, 
— the psychological and sociological. The basis is 
the psychological side. The child mind and not the 
adult forms the basis of educational principles. The 
Master Teacher showed this significant fact when he 
he said, " Suffer the little children to come unto me." 
As has already been mentioned, it remained for mod- 
ern educators and religionists to readjust the psy- 
chology of education to the ideal of the Master. The 
child has his distinctive tendencies, experiences, etc., 
which must be studied and understood and educated, 
if later, as a man, he is to do his part in perpetu- 
ating the ideals of Christian civilization. 

The sociological side of education is an offshoot of 
the psychological. The social side of the child na- 
ture is an inheritance of the tendencies of the past, 
both primitive and civilized. The sociological part 
of education is a work for the present and the future. 
Thf instinctive tendencies of the child life are to be 



4 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

trained and developed so that they may be adapted 
to the best physical environment and civilizing ele- 
ments. On this point Butler says, " Natural forces 
play no small part in adapting human beings to both 
elements (physical and civilized) of environment, 
but the process of education is especially potent as 
regards adaptation to the second element, civiliza- 
tion. Civilization — man's spiritual environment, 
all his surroundings which are not directly physical 
— this it is which has to be conquered, in its elements 
at least before one can attain a true education." x 

The two great historic elements, education and the 
Christian religion, have fostered, developed, and given 
to us our present-day civilization. Dr. Butler has 
well said that the child born into the present-day 
civilization comes into a fivefold inheritance be- 
queathed to him by the past, and for him to be truly 
educated he must have a knowledge of each one of 
these elements, " as well as insight into them all and 
sympathy with them all." 

The summary of his classification is as follows : 2 

(1) The Scientific Inheritance. By this man is 
entitled to know and understand nature by utilizing 
all the resources of modern scientific method. He is 
entitled to know about the world from the viewpoint 
of the earlier people and what it is to-day. It is the 
basis of a liberal education. 

(2) The Literary Inheritance. The great liter- 
ary treasurers and storehouses of culture of the past 
are to be mastered through the study of languages. 
Literature shows the progressive development of the 

i Butler: Principles of Religious Education, page 5. 
2 Butler: The Meaning of Education, pages 17-34. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 5 

peoples of the world which can only be understood 
and interpreted by the study of language. Though 
important as is the study of this great literary in- 
heritance, yet it narrows education to say this study 
alone is sufficient. It is to go hand in hand with the 
scientific inheritance in the early life of the child 
during the period of plasticity or education. 

(3) The Esthetic Inheritance. The aesthetic 
spirit engenders the feeling for the beautiful and the 
sublime ; history shows it occupied a prominent place 
in the early history of the human race. It was de- 
veloped and fostered by the Greeks. Later, narrow 
religious ideals sought to suppress all feelings for 
the beautiful. But it was impossible. Ideals of 
art and beauty were given expression in the construc- 
tion of Gothic cathedrals and the pictures of the 
painters of the Renaissance. The importance of 
aesthetic training is recognized to-day as one of the 
factors in giving the child a true education and per- 
petuating the ideals of civilization. 

(4) The Institutional Inheritance. The history 
of the world shows three types of political ideals. 
One shows the individual to be of no importance, but 
only the great mass of the people are to be con- 
sidered ; that is, individuality must be pressed down 
for the advantage of the whole. Then there is the 
type which is shown in extreme individualism, which 
will not take into consideration the welfare of society 
as a whole but seeks to make the individual sufficient 
unto himself. The true type is neither extreme. It 
gives individual worth, place and consideration but 
makes it subservient, and responsible to law, the wel- 
fare of society, and existing institutions. This is the 



6 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

type which our children are to follow if our civiliza- 
tion of the future is to grow and develop. 

(5) The Religious Inheritance. Religion in some 
form or another is common alike to both primitive 
and civilized people. History of the past testifies 
to this fact as well as at the present time. The re- 
ligious inheritance of the race is a rich one. This is 
true particularly of Christianity in the ideals it has 
contributed to the advancement of civilization and 
culture. Religion has always played a prominent 
part in education though sometimes its spirit was 
narrow, illiteral, and uninformed. Events of com- 
paratively recent times have resulted in the separa- 
tion of religion from education. The growth of the 
public school system in the United States has wit- 
nessed the divorcement of all religious instruction 
from the schools. The result is that our present plan 
of educational development is not meeting adequately 
the needs of the child. 

Since the importance of religious education is gen- 
erally recognized, it is fitting that we should define 
it. The ideal of religious education is the develop- 
ment of the highest form of individual character which 
is to be interpreted in terms of unselfish service for 
God and mankind. 

When the Master gave the command, " Go ye forth 
and teach" (Matt. 28:19-20), he laid stress upon 
a great educational truth. His own life and mission 
exemplified this educational ideal. He impressed this 
message upon his disciples and finally upon his fol- 
lowers to teach. What was the basis of his teach- 
ing? Unselfish service for God and fellow-man. 
This is the central truth of Christianity. It is based 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 7 

upon the highest form of character moulded in spirit 
and in truth after the life of the perfect Teacher. 
" Character," says J. S. Mill, " is a completely fash- 
ioned will." James defines it as a " bundle of habits." 
The definition as stated by James sets forth the idea 
we have in mind which we have set forth in our defini- 
tion of religious education ; namely, the habit of serv- 
ice which comes through training every tendency of 
the individual personality which shall find expression 
in unselfish service for God and man. " No matter 
how full a reservoir of maxims we may possess, no 
matter how good one's sentiments may be, if we have 
not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity 
to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected 
for the better." 1 The keynote of religious education 
is to develop the highest form of individual character 
which will seek active expression in the form of un- 
selfish service. 

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 

In theory, religion and education may be separa- 
ted from each other, but in reality such a thought is 
impossible. The aim and goal of education and re- 
ligion are virtually the same. The basis of true edu- 
cation is religion, and any effort to make education 
independent of religion narrows its scope, aim, and 
goal. True education seeks to develop the whole 
personality. This is the ideal which education must 
ever have before it and to which it must tenaciously 
hold. The religious ideal is also concerned in the 
whole personality. Every volitional, emotional, and 

i James : Psychology, Vol. I, page 125. 



8 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

intellectual tendency is touched, developed, and 
brought to the highest possible form. 

No child who has lacked a careful and thorough 
training in education and religion can be expected 
upon reaching maturity to do his full duty to God, 
his fellow-man and to himself. Dr. King has aptly 
written : " The highest conceivable culture, there- 
fore, would be the culture that should enable a man 
to enter with appreciation and conviction into the 
deepest and most significant personal life of history ; 
and the world is coming to see with greater clearness 
every day that that life is the life of Jesus Christ." * 

THE FACTORS 

There are three important educational factors 
which help us give the child that true instruction for 
him to do his full duty in life; i.e. (1) the school, 
(£) the home, (3) the church. 

THE SCHOOL 

According to the interpretation of our constitu- 
tion, religion cannot be taught in our public schools. 
In the United States, church and state are separate 
and independent of each other, yet a reciprocal rela- 
tion exists between them. 

We have already written about the supreme impor- 
tance and sphere of religion in order to make up an 
all round and efficient education. There is but one 
conclusion to reach with respect to our public schools, 
which leads us to say that its educational work, there- 
fore, is inadequately incomplete. 

We recognize the importance of reading the Bible 

i Personal and Ideal Elements in Education, page 78. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 9 

in the schools, but we cannot call this exercise a re- 
ligious instruction, nor would we want it designated 
by such a term. When this reading is done with dis- 
crimination and without comment on the choice and 
splendid portions of Scripture which should always 
be read, we believe great good can be accomplished in 
many ways. This reading may not be instructive 
in the analytic sense, but the mind of pupils is im- 
pressed with the beauty and simplicity of God's word, 
and we sincerely believe a thirst will be awakened in 
the heart of the child for a greater knowledge of the 
Word. 

There are many educators and religionists who ad- 
vocate the study of religion in the public schools. 
They make a contradistinction between religious 
teaching and denominationalism. They advocate 
that religious instruction based on broad general 
terms of religious concepts free from doctrinal, 
creedal, and denominational interpretations, could be 
put into the school curriculum. We realize there is 
much force and consideration given to their argu- 
ments, but we cannot see the feasibility of the plan. 
We believe in the broad interpretation of religion for 
it to be thoroughly adaptable to all classes and con- 
ditions of humanity. When we speak of religion, we 
are, of course, referring to the broad principles of 
Christianity upon which the advocates of this theory 
agree, as it is the only religion which can give a posi- 
tive civilization to the world. We do not believe that 
the introduction of religious instruction, even on the 
basis of the broadest interpretation of Christian 
teachings, would work out in practice. It is very 
evident that such a plan would not be an acceptable 



10 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

one to the Hebrew, Catholic, and a majority of the 
Protestant and many other forms of religious life 
which are represented in our public schools. All 
these conditions must be borne in mind in advocating 
this theory. At the same time it is well-nigh impos- 
sible to interpret religion on the broadest basis, to 
elminate every iota of denominational and doctrinal 
viewpoint. The public school is not a religious nor 
an anti-religious school, but it is a secular institution 
and we want to see it remain as such. We want to 
see it give the best instruction possible so that our 
children may become well educated along scientific, 
literary, aesthetic, and institutional lines. 

We recognize that there is considerable weight in 
the proposition which is set forth in citing the German 
Schools as an example where an excellent 
and practical course of religious instruction is 
obtained. We have every reason to expect this 
condition of affairs there. The German people 
are the inheritors of the great Lutheran move- 
ment, and Luther was a staunch champion and advo- 
cate of religious education in the schools. Such 
splendid opportunities are afforded in Germany for 
the advancement of religious instruction that we have 
every reason to expect such instruction to be given 
as shall be the best. Since the Lutheran faith is the 
state church of Germany, these measures of religious 
instruction have the support of the government. In 
the United States such conditions do not obtain. 
Nor would we want them to exist. We realize the 
supreme necessity of having the church and the de- 
pendence of the government upon the church, but we 
would not want some particular denomination to be 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 11 

the state church. American ideals and conceptions 
of religion and civil liberty and democracy show that 
these principles are foreign to our viewpoint. 

We agree with many educators that the Bible 
should be placed in our public schools to be studied 
as literature, history, and morals. But let it be 
stated here that the study of the Bible thus is not re- 
ligious instruction, and the Bible to be studied along 
the three lines suggested must be confined to the basic 
fundamentals of these subjects. We think the Bible 
from this viewpoint should find a place in our schools. 
It is the general verdict of all peoples who know about 
the Bible that it is the repository of the world's sub- 
limest literature ! If the study of the Koran, Hindu 
writings, Milton, " Lamb's Tales," etc., may find a 
place in our school curriculum if the teacher so de- 
sires, why should the historical study of Joshua, a 
literary study of the Psalms, or a study of the moral 
precepts of the Pauline epistles be forbidden? We 
cannot see any sane reason for their omission. 

Dr. Seeley in his charmingly written book says, " I 
believe that our teachers should have larger rights 
of way to emphasize the importance of these virtues 
(i.e. honesty, sobriety, etc.), so that with the culture 
and furnishing of the intellect, there shall come the 
development of the individual along moral lines — 
or religious lines, if you please — and yet not in a 
sectarian way. Our teachers and superintendents, 
as a rule, are Christian men and women, and there go 
out indirectly in their lives influences in this direc- 
tion." 1 

However, we cannot agree with Dr. Seeley in ad- 

1 Seeley: Foundation of Education, page 248. 



12 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

vocating the study of the Bible as a religious book, 
for the reason previously stated, and also for any of 
the following examples. The Hebrew father would 
have every right to object, according to his religious 
beliefs and traditions, to the principles of the Chris- 
tian religion being taught to his child. The Bible is 
broad and big enough in its wonderful work to teach 
the highest form of morals without touching upon its 
religious precepts. Again we say religion cannot be 
consistently taught in our public schools. However, 
the two great factors which are to teach our children 
religious truths are the home and the church. 

THE HOME 

The home is the first and always should remain the 
most important factor in a child's education. This 
training should extend from the early years of child- 
hood to manhood. The ancient Hebrews recognized 
the supreme importance of home instruction, and they 
earnestly tried to bring up their children in the fear 
and admonition of the Lord. When this ideal was 
earnestly adhered to, peace, joy, and prosperity 
crowned the people of Israel. In this respect the an- 
cient Hebrew people will always be an example for 
the present and future generations. 

The home is the basic unit of society. It is such 
an important institution that great emphasis needs 
to be laid upon the instruction of Biblical truths 
therein. Alas ! in too many of our homes the Bible 
is a closed book and religious instruction is never 
given at all. No parent can expect the school and 
the church to give all the education the child needs. 
Too many parents seek to shift all of the training 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 13 

of their children upon the church and the school. 
This is impossible. These two important educa- 
tional factors can never give to a child the training 
which is expected to come from the hearth-stone. 
Time and their specialized organization make it im- 
possible. 

There should always be the closest cooperation 
between the home and the school and the church. 
The parents should take a hearty interest in the 
daily school tasks of their children, and whatever 
home work may be required by the school authorities, 
they should see that their children perform faithfully 
and well. By this close cooperation the efficiency of 
the public schools would be increased. 

The home should also cooperate more earnestly 
with the church and give it better support and see 
that the children attend the sessions of the Sunday 
School regularly and faithfully. Too many parents 
think it is the duty of the pastor and Bible School 
teacher alone to see that their children attend church 
worship and the sessions of the Bible School. They 
frequently meet with the experience of a Bible School 
teacher who once visited a home to see that one of the 
daughters attended her Bible School class more regu- 
larly. The mother said that it was the duty of the 
teacher to see that the daughter attended regularly. 
We agree that it is the duty of pastors and teachers 
to see that the children come regularly, but it is not 
their whole nor first duty, for this rests upon the 
home. 

The home, therefore, remains the first important 
factor in the religious education of the child life. 



14 THE ESSENTIALS OF 



THE CHURCH 

The importance of the church to a community is 
well recognized. No community could exist without 
it. The church, particularly through the Bible 
School, is the second important factor for religious 
education. A great responsibility rests upon the 
Bible School, and it is a much needed part of our edu- 
cational work to-day. For it to do the work of re- 
ligious education which is in a large measure incum- 
bent upon it, it must be efficiently organized and 
utilize the best methods for it to attain the purpose 
of its organization. 

The Bible School must work in the closest coopera- 
tion with the public school because upon it devolves 
for the most part the task of teaching the child the 
religious principles which the public school does not. 

The Bible School needs to be thoroughly and sys- 
tematically organized. Its curriculum needs to be 
placed on a scientific and analytic basis if efficient in- 
struction is to be given. Its teachings must be 
adaptable to child life, with a knowledge of the capac- 
ities and needs of the child. The school, it must be 
remembered, is not only to teach religion as such, per 
se, but its curriculum should correlate as closely as 
possible with the public school teaching. In other 
words, Biblical history, geography, biography, liter- 
ature, art, and precepts should be carefully taught, 
as in the public schools. There needs to be careful 
and systematic grading of the classes so that the 
teaching of these studies may be adaptable to the 
capacities of the children. 

The teachers need to be trained and thoroughly 






RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 15 

prepared to carry on their work. Bible School 
teaching, like public school teaching, requires train- 
ing to be thoroughly done. 

In order that the work of the Bible School may be 
advanced, there needs to be the closest cooperation 
between the home and the school. It is necessary if 
the school is to be efficient in teaching the children 
of the household. The spirit of cooperation between 
the two must be very close in order to secure regular 
attendance upon the Bible School. This is one of 
the difficult problems which we face at present. At- 
tendance upon the public school is compulsory ; not 
so with the Bible School. The attendance there is 
often irregular on the part of a large number of 
children, and under present conditions an exceedingly 
large number of children are not receiving religious 
instruction. However, we believe this problem can be 
reduced to a minimum or overcome entirely by close 
cooperation of Bible School and home. Perhaps on 
this point a suggestion would be in order which we 
believe could be worked out along practical lines if 
the Bible School would employ a trained and paid 
secretary for this work, or if a number of churches 
in the city or town would group together to meet 
the expense. It should be the duty of this secre- 
tary to come into contact with each home and get the 
children to go to the school of their denomination. 
Appeal to the responsibility of parents is the only 
way the children can ever be brought into the Sunday 
School. 

We believe, too, that the study period for the Bible 
School lesson should cover a period of at least one 
hour instead of half an hour. The lesson period may 



16 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

be made so interesting and inspiring by a trained 
teacher that there would be no difficulty experienced 
on this point. We believe it would be feasible for 
each child to do a little home work in various exer- 
cises, which could be reported to the teacher the fol- 
lowing Sunday. This work could be of such a nature 
as not to interfere with the public school work. In 
any event we see the need and importance of religious 
education, and that the work of carrying it on de- 
volves upon the Bible School. This great institution 
we want to make more efficient in every way possible. 



CHAPTER II 

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 
THE EARLY PERIOD 

Egypt — China — Babylonia and Assyria — The 
Jews: the ideal of Jewish education; Ezra and his 
work; schools of the later period; female education 
— The Hmdus: their literature — Buddhism; educa- 
tional principles — The Medo-Persians : religious 
ideals; educational conceptions — The Hellenic Peo- 
ple: art, music and poetry; the schools; religious 

education The Romans: religion and education — 

The Catechetical Schools; classes and instruction. 

In a text-book of this nature it is impossible to 
give a complete and detailed account of educational 
development from the historical viewpoint. In our 
historical treatment we have followed particularly the 
religious side of education, and our account, though 
general, is set forth in sufficient detail to bring out 
the phases we deem important to emphasize. 

Down through the centuries, nations, people, and 
various leaders have contributed something to the 
progressive development of education. We have 
picked out particular nations in the past who have 
made definite contributions to religious education. 
In the later history we point out the contributions 
likewise resulting from nations, institutions, and 

17 



18 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

leaders. Our treatment is consecutive and progres- 
sive. One of the striking points of history is the 
close relationship of religion and education. Our 
historical studies are the following: 

EGYPT 

The early history of Egypt is largely a matter of 
tradition. The beginning of its history has been 
pushed back as early as 5000 b. c. The various lit- 
tle kingdoms were united with one state about 3400 
b. c. From this date down to the Roman Conquest, 
30 b. c, her influence in the religious and intellectual 
world was manifested. 

Her earliest gods were the Nile and the Sun-god 
(Re). They were universally worshipped. The 
worship of a multitude of local deities also obtained. 
An air of mystery has always pervaded her religious 
life. 

For our most complete knowledge of the religious 
life we are indebted to the oldest piece of sacred 
Egyptian literature, called the " Pyramid Texts." 

One of the peculiarities of the religion is the con- 
crete form of expression. The Egyptian borrowed 
his terminology from the material world, and his 
mind did not possess the faculty of developing ab- 
stract terminology. 

The Egyptians made great progress in architec- 
ture. Their temples were magnificent pieces of struc- 
ture, but their paintings and sculpture were too stiff 
and formal. They made some advances in science. 
They had a knowledge of medicine, astronomy, mathe- 
matics, and engineering. 

Even at an early date, they had an extensive liter- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 19 

ature. They had books of poetry, morals, religion, 
oratory, travel, etc. Their chief sacred literature 
consisted of the " Pyramid Texts," " Coffin Texts," 
and " Book of the Dead." They were votaries of 
music, but it was of the most primitive nature. 

There was a close affiliation of church and state in 
Egypt. The priestly class wielded tremendous 
power and influence. The temple was not only the 
place of worship and sacrifice, but also became the 
school and university. The three most prominent 
temple universities were at Memphis, Heliopolis, and 
Thebes. At these schools, the priests were educated 
and trained in the traditional religious ceremonies, 
mathematics, ethics, astronomy, and astrology. The 
children of nobility and royalty were also educated 
here. 

One of the most important professions was that 
of the scribe. He was instructed at one of the chief 
temple colleges in law, ethics, and accounts. The 
scribe had as one of his chief duties the making of 
copies of the sacred rituals and manuscripts. 

At its best the religious educational systems of 
Egypt did not raise the cultural life of the people 
to a high standard. In reality the moral practices 
were at low ebb. The acme of religious teaching cen- 
tered in the universal belief of immortality. " His 
religion was not a reasoned or philosophic religion 
even in its highest forms. It was the fruit of a 
dreamy meditation on the broad aspects of life and 
death rather than of speculative analysis. In ethics, 
too, his morality was preceptive and dogmatic — not 
a subject of philosophic investigation." 1 

i Laurie: Pre-Christian Education, page 40. 



20 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

The belief in life after death was universal. They 
believed that everyone born into the world was given 
by the gods the " Ka," which was a kind of guardian 
spirit which was somewhat beneficial to the individual 
during his earth life. But the chief value of the 
" Ka " was after death. He was a kind of superior 
genius intended to guide the fortunes of the individual 
in the hereafter, for it was in the world of the here- 
after that he chiefly, if not exclusively, had his abode, 
and there he awaited the coming of his earthly com- 
panion. In the oldest inscriptions the death of a 
man may be stated by saying that " he goes to his 
' Ka ' " ; when Osiris dies, he " goes to his ' Ka.' " * 

The viewpoint of life beyond the tomb was dreary 
and gloomy. Even at the flood-tide of religious 
thought, when the hope of eternal bliss was injected, 
the idea of a gloomy existence obtained. 

CHINA 

The Chinese claim that their history extends to 
the remotest antiquity. Scholars generally accept 
the date 2500 b. c. as a reliable point in the study 
of the nation's history. With the exception of the 
last fifteen years, China has made little progress in 
civil and educational affairs for more than 2,000 
years. They have been guided by tradition and have 
refused to get out of the rut. 

The sacred books reflect the various phases of 
Chinese life. Confucius, who was born about 551 
b. c, edited and annotated the sacred books. His 
chief work was the " Doctrine of the Mean." The 

i Breasted: Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypt, 
page 52. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 21 

opening sentence is, " What heaven has conferred is 
called the nature; an accordance with this nature is 
called the path of duty ; the regulation of this path 
is called instruction." x 

Confucius recognized the existence of a Supreme 
Being whom he called, " Supreme Ruler of Heaven." 
He was vitally interested in the moral order and 
social well-being of his people. Confucius is the 
ideal man of China. 

The family is the base of Chinese education as well 
as the state. The state is a family in a more com- 
plete form. The father's power in the family life is 
absolute ; the wife in reality is a slave to her husband. 

The educational system has built up an intellectual 
aristocracy, but it has failed to reach the great mass 
of people. The opportunity is present, but the great 
majority of Chinese people have neither time nor 
money to lay hold of it. In brief, the general educa- 
tional method is the memoriter one. Religious edu- 
cation per se is lacking in China. 

In a nation where so much stress has been laid on 
propriety of conduct, morality, and other virtues, 
one would expect to find high standards, whereas the 
reverse is the result. In the Chinese educational 
scheme, training and discipline have been supplanted 
by instruction which makes a high moral state im- 
possible. Their educational system fails to inspire 
the initiative in the individual. He is hampered by 
custom, rules, ceremonies, and tradition. He is re- 
stricted from developing a free personality. This 
lack of moral freedom is the cause of their inactivity 
and lack of progress. 

i Legge : Religions of China, page 139. 



22 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 

The Babylonian civilization which followed the 
Sumir-Accadian in the Mesopotamian plains, was in 
reality an outgrowth of the earlier culture. The cit}^ 
of Babylon under the leadership of King Hammurabi 
about 2000 b. c. became the center of royalty, power, 
and influence. 

They inherited the magical incantations, belief in 
demons, animistic and fetichistic worship as religious 
rites from the previous civilization. The chief Baby- 
lonian god was Marduk. There are traces in the 
sacred literature of a great rise in religious concep- 
tions which contain no traces of animism or magic. 
But to have these ideals crystalized into larger and 
purer religious life was not to be the happy lot of 
Babylonia. They believed in life after death, but the 
outlook beyond the grave was sad and gloomy. 

About 1000 b. c. the Assyrians conquered Baby- 
lon, and in time Babylonia came entirely under As- 
syrian denomination. The Assyrians were a warlike 
people. Their capital was the city of Nineveh. 
Ashur became their chief deity, and as the country 
advanced in power and influence, so their god became 
greater in dignity. 

Judging from the large number of clay tablets 
which have been excavated, both countries enjoyed 
an extensive literature. It seems that each city had 
its library of clay bricks. One of the largest libra- 
ries belonging to Ashurbanapal, was at Nineveh 
(668-626 b. c.) It contained thousands upon thou- 
sands of clay tablets. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 23 

The relation of religion to culture, particularly in 
Babylonia, was very close. The Babylonian litera- 
ture is illustrative of the fact, as it is almost entirely 
of a religious nature. 

The religious education, in reality the intellectual 
life of both countries, was centered in the priesthood. 
They wielded tremendous power in religion and state 
affairs. With each temple was connected a school 
which was presided over and taught by the priestly 
class. All learning was of a religious nature. 

" It is to the temple schools that we owe the intel- 
lectual activity of Babylonia and Assyria. The in- 
centive to gather collections of omens, of incanta- 
tions, and of medical compilations came from the 
schools. Though the motive was purely practical — 
viz, to furnish handbooks for the priests and to train 
young candidates for the priesthood — nevertheless 
the incentive was intellectual both in character and 
scope, and necessarily resulted in raising the stand- 
ard of the priesthood and in stimulating the literary 
spirit. The popular myths and legends were given a 
literary form, and preserved in the archives of the 
temple schools. An interest in fables was aroused, 
and the wisdom of the past preserved for future 
generations." * 

THE JEWS 

The Jews trace their history back to the call of 
Abram by the Lord from Ur of the Chaldees, who 
emigrated to Canaan about 2000 b. c. However, 

iJastrow: Religious Belief in Babylonia and Assyria, 
page 279. 



24 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

their history as a people dates from about 1490 b. c. 
when they emigrated from Egypt under the leader- 
ship of Moses. 

Moses was a remarkable man in every respect. 
He stands out in primitive history as its greatest 
leader. He was leader and schoolmaster for his peo- 
ple. He presented to them the conception of God as 
a Being who was infinite, pure, ethical, without limi- 
tation, who was ready to bless, and who also required 
from them obedience and service and worship. 

Moses impressed upon his people the necessity of 
remembering the law and ceremonies and of seeing 
that they were fulfilled to the letter. He emphasized 
the importance of parents instructing their children 
at a tender age in the mysteries and elements of their 
holy religion. In Deuteronomy 6 : 6-7 we read, 
" And these words, which I command thee this day, 
shall be upon thy hearts, and thou shalt teach them 
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them 
when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest 
by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou 
risest up." (Cf. Deut. 4:9; 6:6-9; 6:20-25; SI: 
10-13; 32:46.) 

According to Micah 3:11, the priests were among 
the earliest religious teachers of the people. 

Then in Joshua 8 : 30-35 we read where the 
people were gathered together in front of Mount 
Gerizim and Mount Ebal where he had erected altars 
and where he read the word of the law to them. 
" There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, 
which Joshua read not before all the assembly of 
Israel, and the women and the little ones, and the so- 
journers that were among them." 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION &5 

THE IDEAL OF JEWISH EDUCATION 

" The sages of the Talmud did not merely regard 
the intellectual accomplishments which are derived 
from education, but they also, nay chiefly, looked 
upon the moral advantages and well-regulated dis- 
position which it should produce. Their efforts in 
this respect were directed not only to impart knowl- 
edge to the young, but also to imbue them with love 
and reverence for God, as well as to develop in them 
a good disposition and sound moral principles. 
Honest thoughts and honest deeds should be the re- 
sult of a study of knowledge and wisdom." x 

THE SCHOOLS OF THE PROPHETS 

The teachers were called fathers and the students 
were known as " sons of the prophets." These 
schools were not to prepare candidates for the pro- 
phetic order, as the call of a prophet to service was 
based upon another idea. These schools were more 
in the nature of conferences or institutes for the pur- 
pose of mutual fellowship and edification. Probably 
music and chanting were also discussed. 

The greatest teachers of these schools were Samuel, 
Elijah, and Elisha. They met at Ramah, Bethel, 
Jericho, Gilgal, and Jordan. Through the mutual 
association of the prophets and students, many of 
the future leaders, reformers, and poets were trained. 

EZRA AND HIS WORK 

With the return of the Hebrews from their exile 
a new era began in their religious education. Ezra, 

i Spiers: School System of the Talmud, pages 41 and 42. 



26 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the scribe, learned in the law, became their great re- 
ligious leader. To promote religious instruction 
in a systematic way, it seems that the calling of the 
congregation together as referred to in Nehemiah 8 
marks the incipiency of the movement. The book of 
the law became the text book of the people, and they 
were taught by priests properly accredited for the 
work. " The Bible became the spelling-book, the 
community a school, religion an affair of teaching and 
learning. Piety and education were inseparable; 
whoever could not read was no true Jew. We may 
say that in this way were created the beginning of 
popular education. In what way this took place is, 
it is true, wrapped in mystery ; in the synagogue men 
did not learn to write and read, and the scribes were 
not elementary teachers. But the ideal of education 
for religion's sake was set up, and awoke emulation 
even though the goal was not reached all at once." 1 

It was during this period that the synagogue seems 
to have been established. Many regard Ezra as the 
founder of it. However, it marks a distinctive 
period in the religious educational history of the He- 
brew people when systematic religious instruction 
was to be given to them. 

In time, wherever a synagogue was found, there a 
school was connected with it. The curriculum con- 
sisted in the study of the Scriptures, the Hebrew lan- 
guage, writing, and reading. Various subjects were 
discussed and a system of catechetics obtained. 

A brief description of the synagogue school is 
quoted as follows from Schaff-Herzog : " The school 
room is the interior of a squalid building rudely con- 

i Hastings : Bible Dictionary, Vol. I, page 647. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 27 

structed of stone, with a domed roof and white- 
washed walls, a wooden desk or cupboard on one side, 
and an inscription in Hebrew over the door. From 
the building, as we approach, comes the hum of many 
children's voices repeating the verses of the sacred 
Torah in unthinking and perfunctory monotone. 
The aged teacher sits silent in the midst. As we 
look in, we see his huge turban, his gray beard, and 
solemn features, appearing over the ruddy face of the 
dark-eyed boys who sit on the floor around him. . . . 
The scholars are the children of the richer members 
of the village community, — of the Bethamen, or ' men 
of leisure,' who form the representative congregation 
at every synagogue service, or of the ' standing men,' 
who go up yearly with the village priest for a week in 
Jerusalem to fulfill similar functions in the temple 
ritual." 

The period from the Return to about 75 b. c. was 
also noted particularly for the rise of a professional 
class of teachers known as the Sopherim or scribes. 
They became interested in the law and literature of 
the past, devoting their time to its study and elucida- 
tion. They also advanced the educational work 
which Ezra had started. The Book of Proverbs was 
the religious pedagogical handbook of this period. 

SCHOOLS OF THE LATER PERIOD 

About one hundred years before the fall of Jerusa- 
lem it is evident that elementary schools existed. In 
64 a. d., when Joshua ben-Gamala (Gamaliel) was 
High Priest, he ordained that attendance at the ele- 
mentary schools should be compulsory. 

Among the Jews it was the custom, rigidly carried 



28 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

out, to instruct their boys at a very early age in the 
mysteries of their religion. The Talmud says, " As 
soon as the child begins to speak, the father should 
teach him to say in Hebrew, ' The Law which Moses 
commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of 
Jacob,' and also the first verse of the Shemang: 
' Hear, O Israel, the Eternal our God is one God.' " 

It was necessary for the boy to be six years of age 
before he could be enrolled as a pupil in the schools. 
During his first four years of school life his only text- 
book was the Bible. He was taught the Mishna from 
his tenth to fifteenth year. After his fifteenth year 
he was instructed in the Gemorah. 

The Jewish pedagogical system required the 
teacher to be brief in his teaching. Rambling ex- 
planations were to be avoided. The instruction was 
largely memory work, as he sought to impress the 
truths upon the mind through concise teaching and 
also to strengthen the memory. 

The teachers who taught the respective branches 
of study were especially trained for their work. The 
schools were organized so that each teacher should 
instruct only twenty-five pupils. 

The time set aside for school instruction was zeal- 
ously guarded and no encroachments upon it were 
permitted. The school sessions were held early in the 
morning and late in the evening. Sabbaths and festi- 
val days were the only school holidays permissible. 

The discipline generally followed was the rules re- 
quired by the Talmud : ( 1 ) The pupil must attend 
the school regularly. (&) During lessons no pupil 
is allowed to leave his seat for any purpose without 
permission of the master. (3) No pupil must ask 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 29 

questions which have no reference to the subject 
taught. (4) Two pupils must not ask a question at 
the same time. (5) No pupil shall ask any question 
at the moment when the master enters the school. 
(6) Pupils must prepare and learn thoroughly the 
lessons and exercises given them for each day. 1 

A friendly and affectionate relationship was sought 
between teacher and pupil. However, the pupil was 
to remember that a high degree of reverence was due 
his instructor. Corporal punishment was forbidden 
except under extraordinary circumstances. The 
highest degree of efficiency in study and instruction 
was sought by appealing to the honor of the pupils. 

FEMALE EDUCATION 

The education of the girls of the family was not 
neglected. Their education was entirely along 
domestic lines. The mother was regarded as the best 
teacher for her daughters, who were under her tutor- 
age from birth until marriage. They were taught 
" to fear God and his commandments," writing, read- 
ing, and particularly domestic duties. In the train- 
ing of her daughter the Jewish mother carefully in- 
culcated the ideals of motherhood as a holy and prec- 
ious heritage. 

In Proverbs 31 there appears a beautiful descrip- 
tion of a worthy woman which was held up as an ideal 
to be aspired to by every Jewish girl. 

" Strength and dignity are her clothing : 
And she laugheth at the time to come, 
She openeth her mouth with wisdom : 

i Spiers : School System of the Talmud, page 51. 



30 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

And the law of kindness is in her tongue. 

She looketh well to the ways of her household, 

And eateth not the bread of idleness. 

Her children rise up, and call her blessed: 

Her husband also, and he praiseth her saying : 

Many daughters have done worthily, 

But thou excellest them all. 

Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain: 

But a woman that feareth Jehovah, she shall be 
praised." 

(Proverbs 31:25-31.) 

THE HINDUS 

The common characteristic of the Egyptian and 
Semitic and Chinese religions, in so far as they 
touched the people, was their externalism. But the 
popular religion of all these races was an external 
system; and, in the case of all save the Israelites, 
it was a superstition. The spirituality of religion 
was lost in ceremonial, and the practical ethics which 
the religion might have yielded were choked by ex- 
ternal observances. 1 

When we pass from the Egyptian and Semitic 
territories to the home of the Aryan races, we feel 
like travellers ascending from monotonous and op- 
pressive plains to a cool and invigorating table-land. 1 
Our studies of the Aryan or Indo-European races 
will include the Hindus, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and 
Romans. 

The Hindu Aryans first emigrated into the Indus 
district from Central Asia probably between 2000 

i Laurie: Pre-Christian Education, pages 165 and 166. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 31 

and 1500 b. c. In time they conquered and spread 
themselves over the whole of Central India. 

THEIR LITERATURE 

To understand the religious, social, and intel- 
lectual tendencies of the Hindus, we must go to the 
repository of their ideals — the Sanskrit literature. 
The sacred portion of this ancient literature may be 
divided into two parts: (1) Sruti, the portion 
which is based entirely upon direct revelation; (2) 
Smriti, the part which was handed down by tradition 
and which was thought to have been revealed to hu- 
man writers. 

It is not within the compass of our book to describe 
the Sanskrit literature in detail, but it is our purpose 
to discuss the parts which are essential to a knowledge 
of the religious and educational tendencies of the 
Hindus. Our discussion will be based upon the di- 
visions adopted by Professor Williams in his scholarly 
volume " Hinduism," under four departments ; viz, — 

(1) The three portions of the Veda, — Mantra, 
Brahmana, and Upanishad. 

(2) The Darsanas, or systems of philosophy. 

(3) The Dharmastras. 

(4) The Bhakti sastras. 

The principal works under these four heads are the 
best exponents of the different periods of development 
through which the Hindu religious mind has passed 
and which, together, make up Hinduism. 1 

The Vedic hymns were probably composed by vari- 
ous poets between the years 1500 and 1000 b. c. 

i Prof. Williams: Hinduism, page 16. 



32 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

The first division of the Veda, called the Mantra por- 
tion, contains the hymns, prayers, and invocations 
which were used in the worship of deities. The winds, 
fire, sun, and water were deified and worshipped. 

The second division is called the Brahmana; this 
elaborates upon the conception of sacrifice and con- 
tains precepts concerning the ritual. The Brahmana 
were directories to be used by the priests, Brahmans, 
in the proper usage of the Mantras in conducting 
worship and at sacrifice. 

The Upanishad, or third division, contains the mys- 
tical doctrines which were appended to the Brahmana 
about 600 b. c. The doctrine of pantheism, can be 
traced to the earliest Upanishads. Out of the 
Upanishads grew the six Darsanas or schools of phil- 
osophy, sometimes called the Six Instruments of True 
Teaching, or Six Demonstrations of Truth. The 
six schools as mentioned and arranged by Professor 
Williams are as follows : 

(1) The Nyaya, founded by Gotama. 

(2) The Vaiseshika, founded by Kauada. 

(3) The Saukhya, founded by Kapila. 

(4) The Yoga, founded by Patau jali. 

(5) The Mimausa, founded by Jaimini. 

(6) The Vedanta, founded by Badarayana or 
Vyasa. 

These schools developed distinctive types of phil- 
osophy which contributed in large measure to the in- 
tellectual and religious life of the Hindus. 

The chief purpose of the Brahmanistic philosophy 
was " to teach men to abstain from action of every 
kind, good or bad; as much from liking as from dis- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 33 

liking, as much from loving as from hating, and even 
from indifference. Actions are the fetters of the em- 
bodied soul, which when it has shaken, it will lose all 
sense of individual personality and return to the con- 
dition of simple soul. This constitutes Brama or 
true knowledge ; this is the summum bonum of Brah- 
manism ; this is the only real bliss — the loss of re- 
peated separate existences by complete absorption 
(sayiyya) into the only really existing Being, who 
is wholly unfettered by action, and without qualities 
of any kind (nirguna) and called Soccidananda, be- 
cause he is pure life (with nothing, however, to live 
for), pure thought (with nothing to think about), 
pure joy (with nothing to rejoice about)." 1 

The code of Manu, a compilation of legalistic, re- 
ligious, ethical, and philosophical precepts, comes 
next in importance in ancient Hindu literature. The 
author or authors of the code are unknown. The 
earliest version may be assigned to the fifth century 
b. c, and then from time to time various parts seem 
to have been added by the Brahmans who claimed the 
mythical philosopher Manu to be the author. 

The code determines the social status. By divine 
appointment there are four classes of society and each 
caste is separated from the other by insurmountable 
regulations and barriers. In the scale of social 
precedence the Brahmans took first rank, and the 
other castes came in the following order: (1) sol- 
diers, (£) agriculturists, (3) servants. 

Manu's code also set forth the doctrine of the 
transmigration of the soul. As a result of good or 
bad deeds, words, and thoughts, a man's soul passed 
J Prof, Williams : Hj?n>mpi, page 52, 



34 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

through the highest, middle, or lowest stages of ex- 
istence. 

According to Manu, women were considered essen- 
tially inferior to man and they were in every respect 
his subordinates. 

BUDDHISM 

About 500 b. c. Buddhism arose in opposition to 
the caste system and tyranny of Brahmanism. The 
chief reforms which Buddhism introduced may be 
enumerated as follows: 

(1) Equality of all men. 

(2) Sacrifices of atonement are of no avail as each 
individual will suffer in this life or the future life the 
consequences of his own deeds. 

(3) Futility of prayers. 

(4) The goal of life is Nirvana; that is, annihila- 
tion or extinction of the soul. 

In reality Buddhism cannot be termed a religion ; 
it is rather a system setting forth teachings in pa- 
tience, morals, charity, etc. According to Hopkins, 
Buddha believed neither in God nor soul. 1 However, 
Hindu religious ideals in their essence were not based 
on externalism; when the devotees of ceremonialism 
sought to give it precedence, then the reforms of 
Buddhism resulted. 

" The ethical virtues of a race whose deepest con- 
victions were pantheistic and whose highest hope was 
personal absorption in the Universal, were, as we 
might expect, temperance, peaceableness, patience, 
docility, gentleness, and resignation. These virtues 

i Hopkins: India Old and New, page 138. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 35 

are naturally accompanied by politeness, respect for 
parents and elders, and obedience to the civil and 
ecclesiastical powers. But duty in our commanding 
sense of the word, and the virtues following from a 
strong personality that controls circumstances and 
shapes the life of each man, were not to be ex- 
pected." x 

EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES 

In pointing out the purpose of Hindu education, 
Wuttke, in contrasting it with the Chinese, well says : 
" The Chinese educate for practical life, the Indians 
for the ideal ; those for earth, these for heaven ; those 
educate their sons for entering the world, these for 
going out of it. Those educate for citizenship, these 
for the priesthood ; those for industrial activity, these 
for knowledge." 

Among the earliest schools that we have any record 
of were schools of priests organized for the purpose 
of preventing of falling into disuse certain ancient 
sacred words, the repetition of which seemed to pro- 
cure the favor of the gods. These schools developed 
elaborate commentaries which served as text-books 
for the students. According to Rhys-Davids, " The 
training in these schools was a curious kind. History 
in one sense, and science too, were of course entirely 
unrepresented. The chief weight was placed on 
memory, and the ingenuity_of commentators was much 
exercised in reconciling the diverse statements of the 
ancient texts which could not err, and in finding 
mystic reasons to explain all the various details of 
the sacrifice." 2 

i Laurie: Pre-Christian Education, page 176. 
2 Rhys-Davids : Buddhism, page 19. 



36 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

There were special schools conducted by the Brah- 
mans called Parishads where special instruction was 
given in the Vedas. The schools of philosophy we 
have already referred to. The young Brahman 
studied the sacred writings, which he was required to 
learn by heart. In educational and practical affairs 
the Hindu relied largely upon his memory. The edu- 
cational opportunities were open to all castes, and 
the lower castes were expected to attend the schools. 
On the whole the castes below the Brahmans were 
fairly educated. 

THE MEDO-PERSIANS 

" The first great wave of Aryan emigration which 
had resulted in the establishment of the European na- 
tions, had been followed by another wave which first 
carried the Hindus into the Punjab, and then the 
Iranian populations into the vast districts of Bact- 
ria and Ariana. Mountains and deserts checked for 
a time their further progress, but at length a number 
of tribes each under its own chiefs, crept along the 
southern shores of the Caspian to the northern coast 
of the Persian Gulf, and these tribes were known in 
later history as the Aryan Medes and Persians." * 

The earliest history of Persia rests in obscurity. 
The founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus dates 
from 558 b. c. By active and strategic methods 
Cyrus extended the boundaries of his empire and se- 
cured the fealty of many tribes and provinces. In 
539 b. c. the Persian monarch waged a successful 
campaign against his formidable rival Babylon, which 
he succeeded in crushing. This great victory added 
iRawlinson: Ancient Monarchies, Vol. Ill, page 300. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 37 

about 250,000 square miles to his empire. The 
overthrow of Babylon also marked the downfall of 
the old Semitic civilization and an ancient religious 
system. Zorastrianism, a purer and nobler system, 
the Persian state religion, took its place. 

At his death, Cyrus left his vast dominion to his 
two sons Cambyses and Smerdis. Cambyses was 
jealous of his brother, and he had him secretly put 
to death. Later, about 525 b. c. he entered upon the 
conquest of Egypt, which he partially subdued. As 
Cambyses was returning to Persia from his Egyptian 
campaign, a messenger brought him the news that a 
revolution was in progress among the Persians. 
Realizing the failure and his inability to suppress the 
rebellion at home, he committed suicide. 

The Magian priests who bitterly opposed Zoras- 
trianism as the national religion, took advantage of 
Cambyses' absence and fomented open rebellion. 
After the death of Cambyses became known, they 
seized the reins of government, destroyed the Zoras- 
trian temples, and established Magism as the state re- 
ligion. The change in religion was satisfactory, 
particularly to the Medes, who desired a more ma- 
terial worship. 

Finally dissatisfaction arose with the existing rul- 
ing order of priesthood. Darius, the son of Hys- 
taspes, a prince of the royal blood, led a successful 
revolt against the Magi, who were driven from power 
and large numbers of them were slain. Darius ac- 
ceded to the throne 521 b. c. He restored the Zoras- 
trian religion to national dignity and rebuilt the 
temples. He reorganized his empire and established 
his authority over an immense domain. 



38 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Subsequently the empire continued to grow and ex- 
pand until the great ill-fated expedition of Xerxes 
against Greece which marked the waning influence 
and power of Persia. The empire continued to be 
a great power until conquered by Alexander in 331 
b. c. 

RELIGIOUS IDEALS 

The primitive Persian religion was probably 
identical with the early Median religious concepts. 
The religious ideals in their primitive form recognized 
the worship of a supreme deity, Ahura Mazdah, or 
Ormazd (the Lord of Wisdom), and the presence of 
an evil spirit, Angra Mainyu, or Ahriman (destruc- 
tive spirit), who has a host of evil spirits (darva) to 
do his bidding in the accomplishment of his wicked de- 
signs. Ahriman wages continued warfare with 
Ahura but in the end evil will be conquered. 

The founder of this religious system was Zoroaster 
or Zarathustra. He was a zealous and cultured re- 
ligious reformer who had a high conception of the 
monotheistic type of religion. His conception of 
the existence and presence of evil in the world is 
shown in his idea of the existence of the evil spirit 
Ahriman, and the ultimate triumph of the good. 
The moral concepts of the Zoroastrian were simple 
and elevating. These ideals were the basic principles 
of Zoroastrianism when it in time became elevated to 
the dignity of a state religion. 

" When the Medes, in establishing a wide-spread 
Empire, chiefly over races by whom Magism had been 
long professed, allowed the creed of their subjects 
to corrupt their own belief, accepted the Magi for 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 39 

their priests and formed a mixed religious system, — 
the Persians in their milder country, less exposed to 
corrupting influences, maintained their original faith 
in undiminished purity and continued faithful to their 
primitive traditions. The political dependence of 
their country upon Media during the period of the 
Median sway made no difference in this respect; for 
the Medes were tolerant and did not seek to interfere 
with the creed of their subjects." x 

The ancient sacred literature of Zorastrianism is 
Zendavesta. There the ideals of worship are en- 
joined which comprise prayer and thanksgiving to 
Ormazd. The sacred writings opposed idolatry. 
They offered up various sacrifices upon the altar and 
the favorite sacrifice was the horse. 

The religious systems of the Jews and Persians 
had many ideals in common, and a close religious sym- 
pathy existed between them. The books of Ezra, 
Nehemiah, and Esther portray the social and re- 
ligious conditions which obtained among the two 
peoples. 

The subsequent history of Zorastrianism shows 
corrupting influences of Magism, Babylonianism, and 
other forms of belief which existed in Asia. In time 
idolatry developed, and the Persians worshipped their 
gods in magnificent temples like other nations. 

The inquiries which Aristotle caused to be made, 
towards the very close of the empire, into the true 
nature of the Persian religion, showed him Ormazd 
and Ahriman still recognized as " Principles," still 
standing in the same hostile and antithetical atti- 
tude, one towards the other, which they occupied 

iRawlinson: Axciext Monarchies, Vol. Ill, page 347. 



40 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

when the first Forgord of the Vendidad was written, 
long anterior to the rise of the Persian Power." 1 

EDUCATIONAL CONCEPTIONS 

The Persians were very careful and strict in the 
training of their sons. The boy for the first five 
years of his life was under the care of women. At 
the age of seven more rigid training began. At the 
age of fifteen he was supposed to be an expert horse- 
man, hunter, capable of enduring all kinds of hard- 
ships, and effective in the use of the javelin and bow. 
He was also taught a useful knowledge of agriculture, 
and the construction of instruments of war. From 
the age of fifteen until fifty he was subject to the mili- 
tary service of his country. The higher classes were 
selected for service in the king's body-guard and were 
stationed at the capital. 

When the Persians adhered closely to these edu- 
cational conceptions, their sons were trained into 
temperate habits. The acme of their moral training 
consisted in a careful observance of truth. A liar 
was despised. The Persian youth learned additional 
moral ideals and religious concepts in his study of 
sacred poems wherein the exploits of gods and heroes 
were set forth. His instructor recited these poems 
in his presence, and he was expected to repeat them 
from memory. In general his education extended 
throughout the first twenty years of his life. 

The Persians were the preeminent Asiatic people 
of their time. The simple Zorastrian faith inspired 
them to high and noble conceptions and contributed 
in large measure to the strong national feeling which 

i Rawlinson : Ancient Monarchies, Vol. Ill, page 363. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 41 

existed. Among the Persians there existed free 
spirit and unhampered personality. There were cer- 
tain grades of society and certain rules which were 
to be fulfilled in the relation of one rank to another 
which obtained among them, but there was lacking 
the depressing effect upon personality, and the con- 
ditions of life in general, which resulted from the 
caste plan of India. " With a sense of personality 
there comes into existence freedom and many conse- 
quent virtues. The Persian thus seems to bridge the 
gulf between the Oriental and the European. And 
yet he was an Oriental." x 

THE HELLENIC PEOPLE 

The early history of Greece marks the beginning 
of European intellectual and political life. In the 
political life of their city-states there was shown a 
spirit of civic and personal freedom which was, per- 
haps, never dreamed of by the ancient Egyptians, 
Chinese, Semites, Hindus, and Persians. Their in- 
tellectual life was marked by clarity of thought, and 
through it their feelings and sympathies were beau- 
tifully expressed. 

Their history is no less interesting, but a detailed 
account is beyond the compass of our text-book, 
hence general statements must suffice. Five epochs 
may be mentioned. 

(1) The prehistoric to the close of the great mi- 
grations. 

(2) The Greek states to the close of the Persian 
Invasion 479 b. c. 

i Laurie: Pee -Christian Education, page 206. 



42 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

(3) The Athenian Supremacy 478-431, and the 
Peloponnesian War 431-404, to the Theban Su- 
premacy 362 b. c. 

(4) Ascending of Philip of Macedon over Greece 
338 b. c, and the reign of Alexander the Great 
323 b. c. 

(5) Becomes a Roman province 146 b. c. 

ART, MUSIC, AND POETRY 

The constituent elements of Hellenic education 
were art, music, and poetry. The ideal was to have 
all citizens educated. In other words art, literature, 
and music were created for the public. The orators 
addressed the great national assembly, which was 
also attended by citizens in large numbers. When 
tragedies and comedies were presented at Athens, 
the whole of Hellas was usually represented by citi- 
zens drawn thither to see the acting. Various fes- 
tive occasions which brought together large numbers 
of people were the times when the poet recited his 
poems. The orator and poet depicted those ideals 
which would inspire deeper love for their country and 
vividly unfolded the glories of their beloved Greece. 

The ancient Hellene was an ardent lover of music. 
The early tribal music was very primitive, but as the 
national spirit developed, music of a higher and 
nobler type resulted. Music was believed to have 
a desirable effect on the body, soul, and mind. A 
certain branch of the Pythagorean school advocated 
that the sweet strains of the harp would restore 
peace to the disturbed soul. 

Great stress was laid upon the educative value of 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 43 

art. The impersonal side of art was particularly 
emphasized inasmuch as it was the national value 
that was to be enhanced. The highest degree of 
perfection was sought for in every statue or frieze 
which was erected, and which was invariably used to 
adorn a public temple or gymnasium. The Hellenic 
theory upheld the ideal that beautiful art developed 
beautiful characters in those who came in contact 
with it. " To serve this educational end, the Hellenes 
expected every statue and painting, as well as every 
poem and tune, to have rj0o<s 9 that is, according to 
Aristotle's definition, to be such that its moral pur- 
pose was manifest to the average man." x 

THE SCHOOLS 

The ideals of the schools aimed to produce the 
highest type of citizenship. Each boy was taught 
reading, writing, arithmetic, and the national litera- 
ture. The sons of the wealthy classes, in addition, 
studied rhetoric and philosophy. The Hellenic 
theory of the ideal citizen aimed not only to give the 
highest training possible to the mind and imagina- 
tion, but demanded equal training for the perfection 
of the body. All games, hardships, and exercises of 
the gymnasium were utilized to develop the body. 
The chief object of this physical training was to de- 
velop in each youth character, courage, determina- 
tion, and energy. 

The ideal of the Hellenic schools first of all was to 
teach character. The citizens demanded that the 
school-master be a man of the most exemplary char- 
i Freeman: Schools of Hellas, page 244. 



44 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

acter. They held the teacher responsible for any 
breach of conduct or misdemeanor on the part of his 
pupils. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

The religious system of the Greeks was a complex 
one. It consisted in the worship of innumerable di- 
vinities. The stories and myths of their deities were 
enshrined in the epics of the race. The youth made 
a careful study of these books, which he was required 
to commit to memory. In time he took part in the 
various religious festivals and dances, which in- 
creased his knowledge of sacred things and intensi- 
fied his faith in the gods. The two great poets, 
Homer and Hesiod, who embodied in their works the 
myths of the gods, were considered to have written 
with special authority, and in time their poems were 
looked upon as divinely inspired ; Homer particularly 
became the Bible of the Hellenic people. The school- 
masters, orators, and the people in general drew les- 
sons in morals from the Iliad and Odyssey. 

However, later many of the philosophers revolted 
against the low mythical ideals embodied in the epics. 
Xenophanes said, " Homer and Hesiod ascribed to 
the gods all that is considered disgraceful among 
men." 1 Eventually public opinion lost its faith in 
the old myths, but belief in the old deities continued. 
In order that the people might not lose sight of the 
ideal, namely, the attainment of perfect character, 
philosophers like Plato sought to personify those 
ethical ideals which should guide the people. Thus 
Plato in his idealization of Socrates seeks to present 

i Freeman: Schools of Hellas, page 229. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 45 

those ethical concepts which shall help the Hellenic 
people to the attainment of perfect character. 

The Greek conception of life in all its phases was 
based upon the aesthetic. Their theory, as men- 
tioned, was to produce the ideal man. The ideal of 
the beautiful towered above all other vital considera- 
tions of life, and this may be applied as the real 
cause for the ultimate failure of the Greek system. 
The theory was not a total failure, but it represents 
only one side of human endeavor. A one-sided sys- 
tem in education, morals, or religion cannot possibly 
exist permanently. 

THE ROMANS 

In making a brief study of religious education 
from the Roman viewpoint, a general survey of 
Roman history will be in order. Rome was founded 
753 b. c. From 509 to 265 b. c. was the period of 
internal development; the establishment of the re- 
public and Roman supremacy in Italy, 265—146 
b. c, marked the extension of her power in the West 
and East. 146—48 b. c. was the period of revolu- 
tion — the dictatorship of Julius Caesar. In 30 
b. c. Caesar Augustus became emperor and reigned 
until 14 a. d. The empire continued until 476 a. d. 
During this period, 306-337 a. d., reigned Constan- 
tine the Great, who recognized Christianity as the 
religion of the empire. 

RELIGION AND EDUCATION 

In the early history the religious duties which 
were to be performed were marked by simplicity. 
Certain traditional forms, which each father taught 



1 



46 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

his son, were to be fulfilled in order to gain the favor 
and blessing of the gods. When Rome extended her 
power over the East, new gods were added to her 
system and beautiful temples were erected and dedi- 
cated to their worship in the great capital city. 
Many religious festivals were inaugurated with elab- 
orate ceremonies in honor of the deities. Around 
each household and estate, in time, innumerable dei- 
ties were gathered, which were faithfully worshipped 
in the hope of obtaining the richest divine favors. 

Thus the Roman children were taught their reli- 
gious ideals in their home life. They accepted and 
continued the religious life of their fathers. The 
highest moral instruction which obtained was the 
traditional precept of the household. 

However, about £00 b. c. marks the influx of 
Greek philosophy in Rome, which had a tremendous 
effect in the religious and educational ideals of the 
time. In Rome, as in Greece, the ideal of education 
was to develop the highest order of citizenship in 
order that each citizen might be trained to render 
the best possible service to the state. In the earlier 
days of Rome, as in Greece when culture was at its 
zenith, the moral training of the pupil was the main 
principle kept in view. 

When Hellenic educational ideals gained a perma- 
nent foothold in Rome, Greek teachers in large num- 
bers were found among the Romans. The Greeks 
taught particularly rhetoric and philosophy. The 
Greek schools of philosophy taught particularly that 
phase which has to do with the conduct of life. In 
time, when a Roman desired information relative to 
right and wrong, he did not consult the priest of his 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 47 

religion, but he went to some philosopher for advice. 
In the homes of many wealthy Romans, Greek phil- 
osophers were found who were expected to teach high 
moral principles to the children. 

As the old Roman conception of education passed 
away, the Hellenic took its place, but the cultured 
Roman at his best manifested the prosaic and prac- 
tical side of life. Or as Laurie says, " As can easily 
be understood in the case of a nation whose genius 
was so essentially practical, whose life was so wholly 
a civil life, the chief legacy of thought which they 
bequeathed to humanity was their moral energy and 
their jurisprudence. The latter we still study as the 
basis of all modern law; and this it was which, dur- 
ing a long and critical period, continued with the 
influence of the Church to hold the civilization of 
Europe together, and finally to re-create it." * 

THE CATECHETICAL SCHOOLS 

It seems that the incipiency of the catechetical 
schools may be traced to the days of the Apostles. 
It was the custom of the Apostles to gather groups 
of people about them for instruction. That a sim- 
ple method of catechetics obtained at this time is 
evidenced by Hebrews 5 : 12, " For when by reason 
of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need 
again that some one teach you the rudiments of the 
first principles of the oracles of God ; and are become 
such as have need of milk, and not of solid food." 2 

i Laurie: Pre-Christian Education, page 321. 

2 The term catechetics according to Thayer is derived from 
the Greek verb Karrixeu, which means: (1) to sound to- 
wards, sound down upon, resound; (2) to teach orally, to 
instruct. 

References: Cf. Acts 21:21, 24: Rom. 2:18; I Cor. 14:19. 



48 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

This method of instruction was generally used in 
the primitive Christian church. According to 
" The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," which is a 
manual devoted in part to Christian instruction and 
which was largely used in the early church, men 
were to be thoroughly instructed in the essentials of 
Christian faith before they were to be admitted to 
baptism. 

Out of this method of instruction grew the cate- 
chetical schools of post-Apostolic times. The most 
celebrated of all was the Christian school at Alex- 
andria. Here were taught the elementary principles 
of Christianity, and theology in its higher form. 
One of its famous teachers was the learned and 
saintly Clement. Another famous catechist was 
Cyril of Jerusalem. He lectured at Jerusalem dur- 
ing the reign of the first Christian emperor, Con- 
stantine. His lectures are clear, methodical, full of 
Christian truth and encouragement. 

CLASSES AND INSTRUCTION 

According to Bingham there were four classes of 
catechumens. 1 

(1) The e£a> ©ovfievoL, or catechumens instructed 
privately without the church. 

(2) The d/cpow/Aevoi, audientes, or hearers, who 
were so called from their being admitted to hear ser- 
mons and the Scriptures read in the church. 

(3) The yowKXtvovres, or genuflectentes, the kneel- 

i Bingham : Antiquities Christian Church, Vol. I, Book 
X, pages 434-435. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 49 

ers or prostrators. After certain prayers they al- 
ways received inspiration of hands, kneeling. 

(4?) The fSaiTTi^ofievoL, or competent es and electi, 
who were so called from their petitioning the bishop 
for the sacrament of baptism. 

According to the Apostolic constitutions their in- 
struction consisted in the following subjects. Be- 
fore the sacrament of baptism could be administered, 
the catechumens must be taught the knowledge of 
God, of Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They learned 
the order of creation of the world, and series of 
divine providence, and the different sorts of legisla- 
tion. They were taught to know why man was made 
and to understand their own nature. They were 
informed how God punished the wicked and rewarded 
his saints. Then followed a course of study in the 
doctrines of Christ's incarnation, his passion, his 
resurrection, and assumption. The catechumens 
were allowed to read the moral and historical books 
of the Scripture. The chief use of the apocryphal 
books was to impress the moral precepts on their 
minds. The competentes learned the Creed, and be- 
fore their baptism they were permitted to learn the 
Lord's Prayer. 

Thus these schools sought to educate the indi- 
vidual to be a worthy and useful member in the 
church of Jesus Christ. Or as Dr. Richard has well 
said, " The underlying principle was that proper 
Christian instruction is the foundation of Christian 
character." * 

i Dr. J. W. Richard: Lectures on Catechetics, page 10. 



CHAPTER III 

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 
THE MIDDLE PERIOD 

Relation of Christianity to Roman Education — 
The Growth of Christianity — The Transient Period 
of Education 500-600 — The Medieval Period 
500-1100 — The Benedictine Schools — The Cathe- 
dral Schools — The Condition of Culture — The 
Reforms of Charlemagne — Alcum and the Palace 
School — Rise of Scholasticism — Rise of the Uni- 
versities: contributing: causes — The Early Univer- 
sities: privileges, discipline, and studies — P re- 
Reformation Movements: the Waldenses; John 
Wyclif: 1324,-1384,; John Huss: 1369-14-15; Je- 
rome Savonarola: 1452-1498 — The Revival of 
Learning — The Renaissance in Italy and Germany 
— Brethren of the Common Life — John Wessel — 
Rudolph Agricola — John Reuchlm Erasmus. 

RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ROMAN 
EDUCATION 

What relation the Christian Church should bear 
to the Roman schools was a question which did not 
provoke much discussion in the incipient days of 
Christianity. The question became a momentous 
one when Christianity gathered to its teachings con- 
verts from the cultured classes. 

There was a recognition at this time that the 
50 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 51 

Christian child would be taught religious ideas in 
the Roman schools which were contrary to the ideas 
taught him at home. The Roman mythology was 
antipodal to Christian thought and life. However, 
the viewpoint of the primitive church came to be 
that if pagan literature was looked upon in its true 
status, and if studied in the Roman schools, it would 
not be likely to lead to apostasy. 

Eventually, the leaders of the primitive church 
came to realize the informational and cultural value 
which was to be derived from the study of Greek and 
Roman literature and philosophy. In the Christian 
school at Alexandria the ideals of the Cross and 
Plato, Homer and Virgil were also taught. 

THE GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY 

By the action of Constantine in 323 Christianity 
became the state religion of the Roman Empire. 
However, paganism did not immediately vanish. 
When Justinian acceded to the throne (527—565), 
Christianity was thoroughly established as the na- 
tional religion. The Christian faith had also been 
extended to Abyssinia, Armenia, Persia, India, and 
to the tribes of the Syrian and Libyan deserts. 

THE TRANSIENT PERIOP OF EDUCATION, 500-600 

Coincident with the growth of the church of this 
period is the decline of the old Roman civil schools. 
The most important of these schools were found in 
Italy, Spain, and Roman Gaul. By the sixth cen- 
tury they had passed out of existence. Their de- 
cline was due to two causes: (1) many of the higher 
classes who had formerly supported and encouraged 



52 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the schools became indifferent to education and 
ceased to patronize them; (2) the schools had failed 
to keep in touch with the ideals of the day which had 
changed from pagan to Christian. 

THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD, 500-1100 

This epoch in the history of religious pedagogy 
was marked by two kinds of schools: (1) the monas- 
tic, (2) the cathedral. In 404 John Cassian, a 
monk, established at Marseilles a monastery which 
was also used as a school. Cassian, in reality, was 
the pioneer of monastic education. 

THE BENEDICTINE SCHOOLS 

However, the real impulse was given to monastic 
education by St. Benedict. He was born at Nursia 
in 480. In 528 he established a monastery near 
Naples. He founded the order of Benedictines, who 
established monasteries over Europe. St. Benedict 
realized the necessity of Christian instruction, and 
each monastery became a school. St. Benedict's 
conception of monastic life was a threefold one: 
(1) a religious retreat; (2) labor adaptable to the 
life, such as agriculture, copying of sacred manu- 
scripts ; (3) to instruct the young. 

At first the monastic schools were established to 
teach those who expected to devote their life to the 
service of the Church. Later, instruction was given 
to those who expected to follow the secular callings 
of life. 

The course of study was as follows : reading, writ- 
ing, a little arithmetic, and chanting. The Latin 
Psalter was the text in reading. The pupil com- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 53 

mitted the Psalms to memory without understanding 
their meaning. The music which was taught was to 
enable the pupil to chant effectively in the worship 
of the church. More advanced instruction was 
given those who expected to follow the secular voca- 
tions. An elementary course of ethics was also 
given. 

On the whole the religious instruction of these 
schools was of a very meagre nature, for even the 
teachings of religious ideals was contrary to the 
cenobite life in its final analysis. Concerning the 
monk, Newman writes, " He cared little for knowl- 
edge, even theological, or for success, even though 
it was religious. It is the character of such a man 
to be contented, resigned, patient, and incurious ; to 
create or originate nothing; to live by tradition." x 
And yet withal the Benedictine schools proved to be 
a blessing to Europe as they kept alive the spark of 
Christian instruction. 

THE CATHEDRAL SCHOOLS 

About the time the Benedictine schools were 
founded, the cathedral or episcopal schools were es- 
tablished. They were similar to the primitive Chris- 
tian catechetical schools and were probably an out- 
growth of this early system of Christian education. 
The cathedral schools were established primarily as 
theological seminaries to provide priests for the 
church. Their course of study embraced the Triv- 
ium and Quadrivium, and particular attention was 
given to theology. The Benedictine monks were at 
the head of many of these schools. 

i Historical Sketches, Vol. II, page 452. 



54 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

For a time the cathedral schools continued as 
vigorous centers of learning, but by 700 interest in 
them had declined, and on the whole the schools had 
retrograded. About 750 Chrodegang, Bishop of 
Metz, became alarmed at the condition of the 
schools. He made every effort to revive interest in 
them, but his work of reformation and reorganization 
met with only partial success. The work of refor- 
mation was to be done by Charlemagne. 

THE CONDITION OF CULTURE 

Previous to the time, and in the early years, of 
Charlemagne's reign, culture, on the whole, was at 
a low ebb throughout Europe. For this period Mr. 
Williams sums up the condition of learning as fol- 
lows : " Learning pertained chiefly to the clergy 
and was by no means universal even among them. 
The peasantry as a class were taught only the dog- 
mas of the church. . . . Nobles and princes, at the 
best, learned only the elements of knowledge, together 
with church doctrines and singing, to which was 
added in the case of princes some elementary knowl- 
edge of whatever laws then existed. Even the conse- 
crated language, the Latin, had degenerated and be- 
come barbarized." 1 

THE REFORMS OF CHARLEMAGNE 

Charlemagne was born in 742, and after the death 
of his father, Pepin, he became king of the Franks 
in 768. His younger brother Carloman shared the 
rule of the kingdom with him, but after his brother's 

i Williams : History of Mediaeval Education", pages 558, 
559, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 55 

death in 771, Charlemagne became sole ruler. He 
was crowned emperor of the Romans in 800 and died 
in 814 after a beneficent and prosperous reign of 
forty-six years. 

Charlemagne realized the decadent condition of 
learning in the schools of his kingdom, and he deter- 
mined to put into operation a series of reforms in 
order to revive the literary spirit. His reforms re- 
quired a reorganization of the schools, a more thor- 
oughly educated clergy, and the education of his 
subjects by the active and zealous cooperation of 
the church. 

In order that his reforms might be carried out to 
a successful issue, Charlemagne in 781 invited the 
celebrated English ecclesiastical scholar and teacher, 
Alcuin, to supervise the educational work of his 
kingdom. Alcuin was master of the school at York 
which was one of the very few bright centers of 
learning at this time. 

ALCUIN AND THE PALACE SCHOOL 

For some time previous to the invitation extended 
by Charlemagne to Alcuin, a court school existed at 
his palace at Aachen. In 782, when Alcuin came to 
his court, Charlemagne made him master of the pal- 
ace school. In the court school Alcuin had as his 
pupils the great king himself, the queen, their chil- 
dren, and the courtiers. Among the most earnest 
of his students was the king, who desired to know 
more about the many perplexing problems which 
were before him. Among the courses of study which 
Alcuin taught were grammar, astronomy, arithmetic, 
the writings of the fathers, and theology. 



56 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

After the palace school was thoroughly reorgan- 
ized, Charlemagne turned his attention to the fur- 
therance of his plans to give Christian instruction 
to his people. Following Alcuin's counsel, Charle- 
magne in 787 issued his famous proclamation on 
education. It seems to have been directed to the 
abbots of the different monasteries. So important 
a document is it that a quotation from it is in 
order. 

" We exhort you, therefore, not only not to neglect 
the study of letters, but to apply yourselves thereto 
with perseverance and with that humility which is 
well pleasing to God; so that you may be able to 
penetrate with greater ease and certainty the mys- 
teries of the Holy Scriptures. For as these con- 
tain images, tropes, and similar figures, it is impos- 
sible to doubt that the reader will arrive far more 
readily at the spiritual sense according as he is the 
better instructed in learning. Let there, therefore, 
be chosen for this work men who are both able and 
willing to learn, and also desirous of instructing 
others; and let them apply themselves to the work 
with the zeal with which we recommend it to them." * 

In 789 the king issued a proclamation to the effect 
that the clergy were to live better moral lives and 
every abbey was to have its school. In this stu- 
pendous task of reformation Alcuin was aided by 
royal patronage, and his efforts were rewarded by 
marked success. Moreover, the old schools were re- 
vived and reorganized and new ones likewise estab- 
lished. In the different parishes, village schools were 

iMullinger: The Schools or Charles the Great, pages 
98 and 99. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 57 

established which were presided over and taught by 
the parish priests. 

After the death of Charlemagne the revival in cul- 
ture which he instituted lingered about a half cen- 
tury and then ceased. A period of retrogression 
followed, during the tenth and eleventh centuries, 
which extinguished large numbers of schools. Igno- 
rance was common to laity and clergy alike. How- 
ever, a few of the more important schools and monas- 
teries, such as those of Paris, Rheims, Orleans, etc., 
continued to give instruction, which was mostly of a 
religious nature. 

RISE OF SCHOLASTICISM 

Moreover, the influence given to learning by 
Charlemagne and Alcuin was not entirely extin- 
guished. Alcuin's influence may be traced in a gen- 
eral way through the lives of his pupils both imme- 
diate and remote. After Alcuin's death the palace 
school had a fluctuating existence. In 845 the king, 
Charles the Bold, appointed John Scotus Erigena 
the master of the palace school. He was one of the 
earliest teachers and philosophers of scholasticism, 
which was introduced into the ecclesiastical schools. 
According to Ueberweg, " Scholasticism was the re- 
production of ancient philosophy under the control 
of ecclesiastical doctrine, with an accommodation, in 
cases of discrepancy between them, of the former to 
the latter." * 

Among the greatest philosophers and teachers of 
scholasticism of this period were Anselm of Canter- 
bury (1033-1109), who developed the Christ ological 

i Ueberweg: History of Philosophy, Vol. I, page 355. 



58 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

theory of satisfaction in his celebrated work, " Cur 
Deus Homo?" and Abelard (1079-1142), who 
taught principally in the Cathedral School at Paris. 
The great work of the schoolmen consisted in the sys- 
tematization of the traditional doctrines and theology 
of the church. 

RISE OF THE UNIVERSITIES 

The revival of learning which took place in the 
twelfth century resulted in the rise of the universi- 
ties of Europe. 

CONTRIBUTING CAUSES 

There were several causes which contributed to the 
establishment of the universities, which may be briefly 
enumerated as follows : 

(1) The Rise of Chivalry, Chivalry owed its 
origin to an early Germanic custom which became dur- 
ing this period a new educational force in the way 
that the ideals of knighthood were emphasized. The 
chivalrous knight was taught the principles of 
loyalty, bravery, justice; to honor and respect 
womanhood, to defend the weak and oppressed. 
These ideals were taught in the special schools which 
sprang up in the castles of the great feudal lords. 
Chivalry, therefore, placed a new phase on the social 
life of the period, emphasized individual responsi- 
bility, and in time developed a broader humanitarian 
spirit in Christianity. Chivalry became a new edu- 
cational force which resulted in producing a higher 
ethical condition. 

(2) The Crusades. This great movement brought 
the people of western Europe together and resulted 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 59 

in breaking down the barriers of isolation. It opened 
up and prepared the way for new opportunities of re- 
ligious and chivalric service and united the peoples of 
Europe by a common faith and purpose. The men 
of Europe were brought face to face with the civiliza- 
tions and culture of the East, and they returned home 
with new ideas and aspirations, and with a quickened 
desire for more knowledge. 

(3) The Growth of Towns and Cities. About this 
time many towns had grown to a considerable degree 
of importance and prosperity. Many of the larger 
cities and towns possessed charters which made them 
virtually independent municipalities. In some, ex- 
tensive trade relations existed, and different industries 
obtained. These conditions brought about the de- 
velopment of municipal schools where the elementary 
studies were taught by priests in the vernacular. 
These conditions obtained pretty generally in France 
and Germany. 

(4?) The Mohammedan Schools. During this 
period the followers of Mohammed had firmly estab- 
lished their faith in the East and in Spain. Coin- 
cident with the establishment of their military power, 
schools were likewise founded. By the twelfth cen- 
tury their universities were found in the East and in 
Spain. Jurisprudence, philosophy, science, etc. were 
studied. They became earnest students of Greek 
philosophy, literature, and art. The Mohammedan 
princes employed translators of the Greek writers 
and the logic of Aristotle was used to support the 
teachings of Mohammed. 

The most important of the Saracenic schools in 
Spain were located at Cordova, Grenada, and Seville 



60 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Christian students were cordially welcomed to their 
universities, and by the twelfth century large numbers 
were found at the Spanish schools. As the Christian 
students returned to their homes, they brought with 
them new ideas and quickened impulse for learning. 
Thus the Mohammedan schools became a large con- 
tributing factor to the intellectual revival of the 
twelfth century. 

(5) Tendency toward Specialization m Study. It 
seems that scholasticism, with the special emphasis 
that it placed on the study of philosophy, gave re- 
newed impulse toward specialization. At the begin- 
ning of the twelfth century, three schools were already 
well known for the special courses of study which they 
followed. They were the medical school at Salerno, 
law school at Bologna, and theological school at 
Paris. 

(6) The Church. During this period the power 
of the church was being extended more and more over 
temporal affairs. By the eleventh century the 
Papacy had reached such a position of supremacy 
that rulers were compelled to submit to her decrees. 
Several instances briefly stated will show the rapidly 
growing power of the Papacy over the affairs of 
European states. In 1077 Hildebrand kept Henry 
IV of Germany bareheaded and barefooted, waiting 
for three days in the winter season in the castle yard 
at Canossa before he was admitted. In 1210 Pope 
Innocent III deposed Otho IV of Germany when he 
failed to fulfill the pledges he made to support the 
Papacy. The Pope placed Frederick II on the 
throne. As a result of a quarrel with Pope Innocent 
III, King John of England was excommunicated, an 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 61 

interdict was laid on his kingdom, and his dominions 
given to the King of France. Finally John submit- 
ted to the Pope, and by becoming a vassal to the Pope 
and paying a yearly rent to Rome, he received back 
his possessions. Thus is seen the great authority 
the church exercised over the secular affairs of Eu- 
rope. 

These different forces, therefore, brought about 
the revival of learning in the twelfth century which 
resulted in the establishment of the medieval universi- 
ties. However, without the fostering care of the 
church the universities at this time could not have de- 
veloped and grown. If the church had recognized in 
these institutions anything inimical to her power and 
authority, she could have adopted measures restrict- 
ing them. But the church recognized the need of 
such institutions and encouraged their development. 
At different times the church granted the universities 
special privileges and protected them. 

THE EARLY UNIVERSITIES 

The very early universities were the outgrowth of 
the old Episcopal schools. One of the first universi- 
ties to be established was the medical school of 
Salerno. About 1065 Constantine, the Carthaginian 
Christian, who was learned in medicine, lectured and 
taught at Salerno. Italian, French, German, Moor- 
ish, and Jewish students specialized here. Salerno 
was incorporated as the University of Naples when 
it was founded in 1225. 

As early as 1100 Irnerius, by his lectures in civil 
law, had made Bologna a famous school. Large 
numbers of students attended his lectures. Frederick 



62 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

I in 1158 formally recognized the university as one 
already existing in a flourishing condition. As a 
result of a strife between the students and the civic 
authorities of Bologna, the students appealed to 
Pope Honorius III (1216), stating that they had not 
violated the law. The Pope confirmed the rights of 
the students and ordered the civic authorities to re- 
spect their rights. 

The following new courses were added : a canon law 
in 1150, medicine in 1316, and theology in 1360. 
Large numbers of students were enrolled in the vari- 
ous courses, and in 1200 it is estimated that 10,000 
were in attendance. 

By the eleventh century the school at Paris was 
well known for its theology, which was taught by Wil- 
liam of Champeaux. He was succeeded by Abelard 
in 1113, who added additional fame to the school. 
In 1135 Louis VII, and in 1159 Pope Alexander III, 
conferred special privileges upon the school. Law 
and medicine were later added to the courses, but the 
university continued to lay the greater stress upon 
the study of theology. 

Universities were later also established at Oxford, 
Cambridge, Prague, Vienna, etc. 

PRIVILEGES, DISCIPLINE, AND STUDIES 

By various grants from kings and popes certain 
privileges were conferred on the universities. By the 
power of the Pope the licenses of teachers were recog- 
nized so that they could teach anywhere in Europe. 
The universities were given the right of internal 
jurisdiction. On the whole discipline was very lax, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 63 

and the students got into frequent quarrels with the 
civic authorities. As has been stated, the universi- 
ties aimed particularly at specialization in the 
studies of medicine, civil law, canon law, theology and 
philosophy. The text-books used were certain recog- 
nized authoritative manuscripts from which the 
teacher dictated and the student copied and memo- 
rized. For example, in 1150, Peter the Lombard's 
" Liber Sententiarium " became the recognized text- 
book in theology, and the dictation method which was 
in vogue was likewise used for this book. The growth 
and development of universities mark the close of the 
medieval period. From their teachings arose new 
social, educational, and religious forces which cul- 
minated in the Renaissance and the Reformation. 

PRE-REFORMATION MOVEMENTS 

For many decades prior to the Reformation several 
distinctive movements may be traced which sprang up 
within the medieval church, as antithetical to the pre- 
vailing dogmas, rites, and ceremonies, and to the 
claims of the priesthood, as foreign to the ideals of 
primitive Christianity. Dr. Fisher states, " Who- 
ever, whether in the chair of theology, in his pulpit, 
through the devotional treatise, or by fostering the 
study of languages and of history, or in perilous com- 
bat with ecclesiastical abuses, attracted the minds of 
men to the Scriptures and to a more spiritual con- 
ception of religion, was, in a greater or less measure, 
a reformer before the Reformation." 

The following are the most important pre-Reform- 
ation movements: 



64 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

THE WALDENSES 

During the first half of the fourteenth century one 
of the sects who was most actively engaged in re- 
ligious educational reforms was the Waldenses, who 
traced the organization of their society to Peter 
Waldo of Lyons, who preached and taught the Bible 
to the people. They sought to make the people ac- 
quainted with the Scriptures and urged them to read 
it. They taught principally in northern Italy and 
southern France. 

JOHN wyclif: 1324-1384 

John Wyclif, a great scholar of Oxford University, 
boldly demanded certain reforms to take place within 
the church. He opposed the complex organization 
of the clergy, urged greater simplicity in Christian 
worship, and demanded of the clergy that they take a 
deeper interest in their parishes. His greatest serv- 
ice rendered to the cause of religious instruction was 
his translation of the Bible into the English lan- 
guage. 

john huss: 1369-1415 

John Huss of Bohemia, who was largely interested 
and actively engaged in reform movements, was also 
influenced in his work by the writings of Wyclif. By 
voice and pen he sought to establish nobler concep- 
tions among the clergy and to have the Bible recog- 
nized as the source of greatest authority in the 
church. Huss was an earnest preacher and a zeal- 
ous educator. His work formed the basis upon which 
larger results in religion and education were to be 
established. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 65 

JEEOME SAVONAEOLA 1452-1498 

Savonarola's great work of reform was done in 
Florence. He denounced the wickedness and immor- 
alit}' which abounded there like one of the prophets 
of old. Savonarola's work brought about reforms 
in the religion and government of the city. His ef- 
forts made him many enemies, among them Alexander 
VI, the Pope. His open and fearless preaching and 
teaching led to his excommunication, which he dis- 
credited as out of harmony with the Word of God. 
Finally his enemies became powerful enough to cause 
his imprisonment. While in prison he wrote a classic 
treatise on justification based on the fifty -first Psalm. 
When Luther read it he was so much pleased with it 
that he had it published and wrote a fitting preface 
for it. Savonarola was finally condemned to death. 

THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING 

Another event which was a large contributing cause 
to the Reformation was the revival of learning. By 
it culture was revived and the widespread ignorance 
of the Middle Ages vanished. The Renaissance had 
its birth in Italy. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio 
were the three great Italian writers who may be called 
the pioneers of the new movement. 

In 1453 Constantinople was captured by the Turks 
and many Greek scholars and teachers sought a new 
home in Italy They brought with them valuable 
manuscripts from the East, and their study gave new 
impulse to the movement. Large numbers of schools 
were established where the Roman and Greek classics 
were studied. Italian princes became patrons of 



m THE ESSENTIALS OF 

learning, and they expended large sums of money for 
the establishment of libraries and the collection of 
ancient manuscripts. 

About the middle of the fifteenth century printing 
was invented. The rapidity with which books came 
from the printery in that age was almost remarkable. 
Thus ancient manuscripts, commentaries, grammars, 
etc. were published, which caused the new culture to 
spread rapidly. 

The influence of the Renaissance was not only felt 
in the revived interests of classical studies, but like- 
wise in the field of religion. As students turned to 
the sources of the classics, so likewise religionists 
sought the sources of the Scriptures. Religious 
scholars studied the Old and New Testaments in the 
original languages, and a revived interest was mani- 
fested in the work of the church fathers. 

The revival of learning sounded the death knell of 
scholasticism. It showed that the scholastics who 
based so much of their reasoning on the writings of 
Aristotle had followed faulty translations instead of 
the original text. It took away many misconcep- 
tions of culture and history of the past which clouded 
the medieval mind. The new culture was gradually 
admitted to the universities, and when the University 
of Wittenberg was organized in 1502, particular at- 
tention was devoted from the first to classical and 
biblical studies. 

THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY AND GERMANY 

In Italy the revival of learning centered itself 
primarily in the study of Greek and Latin classics, 
and its application of religious researches was rele- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 67 

gated to a secondary place. Gradually the Renais- 
sance spread into Germany, where a remarkably 
awakened interest was carried on in the various 
studies. From its incipiency in Germany the move- 
ment assumed a religious tone. This interest was 
shown particularly in the study of the Scriptures. 
Scholars studied the New Testament in the Greek and 
the Old Testament in the Hebrew in order to come 
to a clearer interpretation of the Word. This in- 
tensive Bible study was bound to lead into a conflict 
with the dogmatic and authoritative concepts of the 
medieval church. 

BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE 

This order was founded in the fourteenth century 
by Gerhard Groot, a Hollander. The aim of the 
order was to make a careful study of the Bible and to 
give systematic Bible instruction to poor children. 
They established schools at various places, of which 
Deventer was the leading one. They did a pioneer 
work in Bible study and religious instruction. Their 
greatest representative was Thomas a Kempis, the 
author of the immortal book, " The Imitation of 
Christ." 

JOHN WESSEL 

John Wessel, who helped to foster the revival of 
learning in Germany, received his education at De- 
venter, Rome, and Paris. He was also a teacher at 
the University of Paris from 1470 to 1480. There 
he exercised strong influence over two students, Ru- 
dolph Agricola and John Reuchlin, who afterwards 
became great scholar§ of Germany, Wessel had 



68 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

great fondness for the study of the Bible, which he 
studied in the original languages. His influence was 
largely instrumental in giving a religious trend to the 
Renaissance in Germany. 

RUDOLPH AGRICOLA 

Rudolph Agricola was born in 1443 near Gronin- 
gen, Germany. He received his education from 
Thomas a Kempis, the Universities of Louvrain and 
Paris, and subsequently he studied in Italy. Upon 
his return to Germany he located at Heidelberg, 
where he gave public and private instruction. His 
learning and scholarly ability soon gave him a wide 
reputation throughout Germany. Due to the influ- 
ence of Wessel, he also became a student of Hebrew. 
Agricola was one of the pioneers of the humanistic 
movement in Germany. 

JOHN REUCHLIN 

John Reuchlin was born at Pforzheim in 1455. 
He studied at the University of Paris, at Basel, and 
subsequently in Italy. He became a proficient stu- 
dent of Greek and Hebrew, which he taught at the 
Universities of Ingolstadt and Tubingen. Reuchlin 
has been called the father of modern Hebrew studies. 
He published the first Hebrew grammar in Germany 
in 1506. Concerning his Hebrew studies he once 
wrote to Cardinal Hadnoir : " I devoted myself to 
the Hebrew language because I perceived the great 
value which it would have for religion and true 
theology. To this end I have always directed my 
labors, and continue to direct them more than ever. 
As a true worshipper of our Lord, I have done all for 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 69 

the restoration and glorification of the true Christian 
Church." * 

He was a great teacher, who taught many students 
publicly and privately. By his influence humanistic 
studies gained a place in many German universities. 

ERASMUS 

Erasmus, the greatest scholar of the Renaissance 
period, was born October 27, 1466, at Rotterdam. 
He was left an orphan at an early age, and his three 
guardians forced him into a convent. He disliked 
the conventual life and he desired to go to some uni- 
versity to study. Finally the opportunity came to 
him to study at the College of Montaigne in the Uni- 
versity of Paris. In his student days the brilliancy 
of his intellect elicited the admiration of his 
teachers, and they prophesied for him a great 
scholarly career which was fulfilled. 

For a time he taught, but his greatest work was 
done as a man of letters. Fisher writes of him: 
" Yet the wit and wisdom and varied erudition which 
he poured forth from his full mind, made him justly 
the most popular of writers. He sat on his throne, 
an object of admiration and of envy. By his multi- 
farious publications and his wide correspondence with 
eminent persons — ecclesiastics, statesmen, and 
scholars, — his influence was diffused over all Eur- 
ope." 2 

However, the greatest service that he contributed 
to the Reformation and religious education was his 
translation of the New Testament in Greek, which he 

i Painter: History of Education, page 129. 
2 Fisher: The Reformation, page 66. 



70 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

published. Concerning it he wrote, " It is my desire 
to lead back that cold dispute about words called 
theology to its real fountain. Would to God that 
this work may bear as much fruit to Christianity as 
it has cost me toil and application." 



CHAPTER IV 

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 
THE LATER PERIOD 

The Reformation of Education — Condition of 
Church and Education — The Reformation a Re- 
ligious and Educational Movement — Two Basic 
Principles — Martin Luther — Luther and Educa- 
tion — The Bible — Luther 's Catechisms — Philip 
Melanchthon — Ulrich Zwmgli — John Calvin — 
The Jesuit Schools — Rabelais: H83-1553 — Roger 
Ascham: 1515—1568 — Michel de Montaigne: 1533— 
1592 — Francis Bacon: 1561-1626 — John Milton: 
1608-1674, — Wolfgang Ratich: 1511-1635 — John 
Amos Comenius: 1592-1671 — John Locke: 
1632-1704. — August Francke: 1663-1727 — 

— Jean Jacques Rousseau: 1712-1778 — John 
Basedow: 1723-1790 — Johann Ernesti: 1707-1781 

— John Henry Pestalozzi 1746-1827 — Freidrich 
Froebel : 1 783-1852 — Jean Frederic Herbart : 
1776-1841 — Herbert Spencer: 1820-1903, 

THE REFORMATION OF EDUCATION 

The sixteenth century Reformation marks the be- 
ginning of the modern historical movement of re- 
ligion and education. Fisher says : " The Reforma- 
tion, like all other great social convulsions, was long 
in preparation. It was one part of that general 
progress, complex in its character, which marked the 

71 



72 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

fifteenth and the opening of the sixteenth centuries 
as the period of transition from the Middle Ages to 
modern civilization." 

The pre-Reformation movements and the Renais- 
sance contributed in large measure to the Reforma- 
tion. A number of the Teutonic scholars had been 
led by the humanistic revival to specialize in Scrip- 
tural studies which gave them new conceptions of the 
church which on the whole were antithetical to the 
views of the medieval church. 

CONDITION OF CHURCH AND EDUCATION 

The sad condition of the church also occasioned 
the Reformation. The picture of the church of this 
period is one which presents a dark and gloomy as- 
pect. The clergy were ignorant, degenerate, and 
lazy in the performance of the duties of their office. 
Kurtz says : " Too frequently the cloisters became 
the seats of dissoluteness, debauchery, idleness, 
crimes, and unnatural vices." 

The schools, likewise, were in a deplorable state. 
They were neglected, and superstition and ignorance 
abounded among the people. Concerning the schools 
of Saxony in 1528, Luther wrote : " The common 
people, especially in the villages, are utterly igno- 
rant of the Christian doctrine; even many pastors 
are wholly unqualified to teach ; and yet all are called 
Christians, are baptized, and partake of the sacra- 
ment, knowing neither the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, 
nor the Ten Commandments, and living and acting 
like irrational beasts." 

To change this condition of affairs in church and 
education was the object of the reformers. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 73 

THE REFORMATION A RELIGIOUS AND 
EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENT 

The Reformation was primarily a religious and 
educational movement. It was a religious movement 
in that it sought to purify the medieval church of its 
corruption. It sought to reform the church ac- 
cording to Scriptural authority and principles. 

It was an educational movement in that the re- 
formers sought to extend the means of instruction. 
The prevalence of ignorance among clergy and laity 
alike has already been shown. The program of the 
reformers included the application of the reforming 
principles to the universities and higher institutions 
of learning, and at the same time the establishment 
of schools to foster popular education. They laid 
much stress and emphasis upon religious instruction 
so that the people might be given a thorough knowl- 
edge of Biblical studies. 

TWO BASIC PRINCIPLES 

The two great basic principles underlying the Ref- 
ormation were (1) justification by faith alone; (2) 
the Bible and not the church was the source or au- 
thority of faith and practice. 

In upholding the principle of justification by faith 
alone, the reformers claimed that through faith all 
men became priests before God. Christ alone be- 
comes the only mediator between God and man. This 
view does away with the hierarchial idea that man can 
come to the Father only through the intercession of 
the priest. This conception, therefore, made the 
Christian religion Christocentric as antipodal to the 



74 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

medieval theology which made the church the cen- 
ter. 

The reformers took the Bible as the source of their 
viewpoint on faith and practice. The ideal life is 
found in the example of the Master, and his teach- 
ings are to be inculcated in the life of each individual. 
In order that the laity might come to a true knowl- 
edge of these essential principles, schools were to be 
established where religion and all other useful in- 
struction would be imparted. Thus the foundations 
of modern education were laid broad and deep. 

MARTIN LUTHER 

Luther was the great leader of the Reformation 
movement. The prodigious results which he brought 
about in the spheres of religion and education have 
given him the well merited title, " The Hero of the 
Reformation." 

He was born November 10, 1483, at Eisleben, 
Germany. His parents were in humble circum- 
stances, pious and God-fearing, and ambitious to have 
their son well educated. He studied at Magdeburg, 
Eisenach, and Erfurt, where he received his degree 
of Master of Arts. 

It was in the university library at Erfurt* 1501, 
that Luther discovered the Latin Bible, which he had 
never seen before. Concerning it he said, " As a 
young man I saw a Bible in the university library at 
Erfurt, and read a portion of the first book of 
Samuel, but I had to attend a lecture just then; will- 
ingly would I have read through the whole book, but 
had no opportunity." 

The finding of the Bible led him to change his plans 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 75 

from entering the legal profession to become a monk, 
and much against the will of his father he entered the 
Augustinian convent at Erfurt. Here he spent three 
years in diligent study and meditation. In 1508 he 
was made a professor in the University of Witten- 
berg, where he lectured on philosophy and the Scrip- 
tures. 

In 1511 he was sent on a mission to Rome on behalf 
of his order. He was disappointed in his visit and 
saddened at finding the corruption and profligacy 
which obtained in the papal court. 

On his return to Wittenberg he resumed his duties 
at the university. It was in 1517 that Luther raised 
his voice in protest to certain existing conditions in 
the Church. The occasion was the sale of indul- 
gences at Wittenberg by John Tetzel, a Dominican 
from Leipsic. In protest against it he nailed ninety- 
five theses on the church door of All Saints at Wit- 
tenberg, October 31, 1517. They were a challenge 
for a discussion, and Luther was ready to defend his 
position. This action marked the beginning of the 
Reformation. 

Subsequent events led to an open conflict with the 
church. In 1521 he was summoned before the Diet 
of Worms to retract his statements. He refused to 
do so. He said, " Unless I am proved to be in error 
by testimony from Holy Writ, or by clear and over- 
powering reasons, I cannot and will not recant, be- 
cause it is neither safe nor advisable to do anything 
against conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do 
otherwise. God help me. Amen ! " 

After the Diet of Worms, by voice and pen Luther 
continued to advocate aggressively the principles 



76 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

of the Reformation until the time of his death in 
1546. 

LUTHER AND EDUCATION 

The deplorable condition of the schools during this 
time has already been referred to. The reformers 
realized the necessity of establishing Christian schools 
in order to insure the permanency of the Reforma- 
tion. 

From Wittenberg in 1524 Luther wrote a letter to 
the mayors and aldermen of all the cities of Germany 
in behalf of Christian schools which shows his great 
interest in education and from which the following 
is an excerpt: 

" Thus, in all the world, even among the heathen, 
schoolmasters and teachers have been found neces- 
sary where a nation was to be elevated. Hence in 
the Epistle to the Galatians Paul employs a word 
in common use when he says, ' The law was our school- 
master.' 

" Since, then, a city must have well-trained people, 
and since the greatest need, lack, and lament is that 
such are not to be found, we must not wait till they 
grow up of themselves ; neither can they be hewed out 
of stones nor cut out of wood; nor will God work 
miracles so long as men can attain their object 
through means within their reach. Therefore we 
must see to it, and spare no trouble or expense to 
educate and form them ourselves. For whose fault 
is it that in all the cities there are at present so few 
skillful people except the rulers, who have allowed the 
young to grow up like trees in the forest and have 
not cared how they were reared and taught? The 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 77 

growth, consequently, has been so irregular that the 
forest furnishes no timber for building purposes, but 
like a useless hedge, is good only for fuel." x 

Luther's appeal was not in vain. The Duke of 
Mansfield commissioned him in 1525 to establish pri- 
mary and secondary schools in Eisleben. After the 
plan of these schools others were established through- 
out Germany. 

THE BIBLE 

In order that the German people might know and 
understand the Word of God, in 1524, Luther issued 
his translation of the New Testament, which was 
based on the Greek Testament of Erasmus. In 1534 
his translation of the whole Bible was published. 
Luther's great vernacular translation of the Bible 
has been well called the classic of the German people, 
— particularly so, since he based his work on the 
original languages of the Scriptures. 

Luther's Bible was a great educational factor for 
his people. They were anxious to read the Scrip- 
tures and to glean from the sacred pages the revela- 
tion of the divine Will. In a short time a half mil- 
lion copies were circulated. " Even shoemakers, 
women, and ignorant people who have learned only a 
little German, are eagerly reading the New Testa- 
ment as the fountain of all truth; and that, more- 
over, with such frequency that they know it by heart." 
Thus wrote a Romanist of the time. 

LUTHER'S CATECHISMS 

The introduction of the Catechism resulted from 
the Saxon Visitation in 1528, when it was found that 
i Painter: Luther on Education, pages 181 and 182. 



78 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the pastors and people were alike ignorant of the 
essentials of religion. In order that young and old 
might have a knowledge of the fundamental truths of 
religion, Luther prepared his two catechisms. On 
January 15, 1529, he wrote to Pastor Martin Goer- 
litz of Brunswick, " I am now engaged in preparing 
a catechism for ignorant pagans." His large Cate- 
chism was published April 23, 1529. In the mean- 
time he prepared an abridged edition of the Large 
Catechism, known as the Small Catechism, which was 
published May 16, 1529. His Small Catechism con- 
sists of five parts, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, 
the Lord's Prayer, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. 

The purpose of the Small Catechism was to set 
forth the fundamental truths of Divine Revelation 
in a simple way in order that they could be easily 
grasped and understood. The plan followed is the 
question and answer method, and each answer is sup- 
ported by Scriptural texts. " Taken as a whole this 
little book exhibits Luther's deep insight into funda- 
mental truth, his power of condensation, his sim- 
plicity of statement and his conservatism. Next to 
the translation of the Bible it is Luther's greatest 
and most useful work. It has been translated into 
many languages and has been taught to millions of 
children." x 

Thus Luther was anxious to have the German 
people given the proper religious instruction, and 
for this purpose he translated the Bible into the 
vernacular and prepared his catechisms. The schools 
he established were for the purpose of fostering re- 

i Prof. Richard: Lectures ok Catechetes, pages 18 and 19. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 79 

ligious and secular education. He laid the founda- 
tions for popular educational reform and his activi- 
ties for educational reform show him to be the great 
educational leader of the sixteenth century. 

PHILIP MELANCHTHON 

Another great leader of the German Reformation 
was Melanchthon. He was known as the Preceptor 
Germaniae and was closely associated with Luther in 
the Reformation work. He studied at the Universi- 
ties of Heidelberg and Tubingen. In 1518 he was 
made Professor of Greek in the University of Witten- 
berg. Here an intimate friendship was formed be- 
tween Luther and Melanchthon which was a great 
help to each during the many trials of the Reforma- 
tion. Melanchthon exerted an influence upon the 
Reformation in many ways, but particularly by his 
writings and teaching. 

He was the author of many books. His most 
notable work, published in 1521, was known as the 
" Loci Communes" which was the first book on dog- 
matic theology published in the Protestant church. 
Luther commended an earnest reading of this work. 
It was Melanchthen's best contribution to the cause 
of religious pedagogy of the period. He was recog- 
nized as a brilliant and scholarly teacher throughout 
Europe. Large numbers of students attended his 
instructions at Wittenberg. Here they were taught 
the ideals of culture and religion, and his students 
helped in many ways to promulgate the principles of 
the Reformation. 



80 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

ULRICH ZWINGLI 

Zwingli was the founder of the Protestant move- 
ment in Switzerland, and from its inception he was 
vitally interested in the promotion of Christian edu- 
cation. In 1523 he wrote a treatise on education 
under the caption, " The Christian Education of 
Youth," in which he urges the necessity and impor- 
tance of biblical studies. 

JOHN CALVIN 

Calvin, as one of the later reformers, is best known 
for the wonderful work which he carried on at Geneva. 
Here he began his work in his twenty-eighth year, 
and with the exception of a brief period he con- 
tinued his work in that city until his death in 1564. 

Calvin realized the necessity of instituting re- 
ligious education in Geneva, and to foster it he 
started schools throughout the canton. He had no 
faith in education apart from religious instruction, 
and to carry out his ideas he prepared a catechism in 
which the children were to be instructed in the schools. 

The reformers recognized the need and importance 
of education. They laid the greatest stress on Chris- 
tian education because the exigencies of the time de- 
manded it. At times they may have over-emphasized 
its needs, but in their zeal for reformation they under- 
stood the vital need for religious instruction. How- 
ever, they laid the foundations broad and deep for 
modern Christian and secular education. 

THE JESUIT SCHOOLS 

One of the great causes of the rapid growth of the 
Protestant Reformation was the system of religious 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 81 

instruction provided for the children and youth by 
the leaders of the movement. In order to counteract 
the movement and to save itself from destruction, the 
Catholic church fostered the organization of the Je- 
suit schools. By and through the Jesuit system 
many countries were saved by the Catholic faith. 
For more than a century their schools were the 
great educational agencies in the Catholic church. 

The Jesuits were officially recognized by the 
Catholic church in 1540. In that same year Paul 
III issued a papal Bull to the effect that the Jesuit 
schools were organized especially for the purpose of 
instructing boys and ignorant persons in the Chris- 
tian religion. By special grants and privileges which 
they obtained from the popes, they succeeded in es- 
tablishing many schools and colleges throughout 
Europe. 

The Jesuit curriculum embraced two courses of 
study, — studies superiora et inferiora. In the 
smaller schools the studies inferiora obtained, which 
were divided into five classes. Students were admit- 
ted to these courses at the age of ten and continued 
until sixteen. All instruction was given gratuitously. 
Text-books were frequently used, but most of the in- 
struction was given by lectures. The students were 
frequently quizzed and tested in their knowledge of 
the text-books and lectures. 

Students were admitted to the studia superiora 
courses between the ages of twenty and twenty-four. 
These courses were pursued in the higher schools 
and colleges. A large number of these students were 
preparing to carry on the future work of the society. 

The religious instruction of the students was 



82 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

strongly emphasized. Prayers were offered before 
each lecture or recitation. The students were re- 
quired to attend mass each morning. A Jesuit father 
confessor lived at each school, and the rules required 
all students to make frequent confessions. Sacchini 
once wrote, " The education of the young is the 
revocation of the world. These schools are the camp 
of God; in them lie the seeds of all that is good. 
There I see the foundation and ground-work of the 
commonwealth, which many fail to see from its being 
underground." 

The success of the Jesuit schools rested entirely in 
the relationship of the students to the teachers, who 
sought by leading their pupils to interest them in 
their studies. They took every precaution to see 
that the students were not overtaxed with work, and 
in order to help each boy the master came to know 
the capacities of each student for work. 

However, at its best the Jesuit plan of education 
resulted only in one-sided development. In its final 
analysis their conception of education was only a 
mechanical process. The student's mind was to be 
well stored with facts irrespective of correlation, and 
he was counted brilliant who could make a great dis- 
play memoriter of his knowledge. Consequently, 
their system prevented and suppressed freedom of 
thought, originality, religious toleration, and the 
formation of correct judgments. 

RABELAIS: 1483-1553 

With Rabelais a new epoch begins in education. 
He does not break with the educational ideals of the 
Renaissance; he fosters and advances them, and his 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 83 

own initiative goes beyond them. In every respect 
Rabelais is a realist. For example, according to his 
conception the student should not discard the old 
writers but go to them for instruction about things, 
and at the same time observe certain facts and 
phenomena in the natural world and " compare them 
with what is written of them in the books of the an- 
cients." Rabelais believed that wisdom, eloquence, 
and piety constituted the end of education. His cur- 
riculum embraced the study of Greek, Hebrew, Chal- 
dee, Latin, the Quadrivium, medicine, natural science, 
Scriptures, physical culture, etc. 

He does not have much to say with reference to re- 
ligious instruction, although he urges the student to 
begin the day with studying and meditating on the 
Holy Scriptures and to pray unto the good Father 
for guidance and blessing. He also urges the read- 
ing and study of the Scriptures in the original lan- 
guages. We find in Rabelais' system the beginning 
of scientific inquiry and investigation which was de- 
veloped later by leading educators and scientists. 
His influence may be traced in the educational ideas 
of Montaigne, Locke, and Rousseau. 

ROGER ASCHAM: 1515-1568 

Ascham's greatest contribution to education was 
the production of his " Scholemaster" a work which 
has since become a classic. Concerning it, Professor 
Ma3 T er has said, " This book sets forth the only sound 
method of acquiring a dead language." Concerning 
the teaching of Latin he wrote, " First, let the child 
learn the eight parts of speech, and then the right 
joining together of substantives with adjectives, the 



84 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

noun with the verb, the relative with the antecedent." 
Ascham takes for example Sturm's selection of 
Cicero's Epistles which the teacher is to teach the 
pupil simply, and to help him to a clear understand- 
ing of the text. Then he gives the following direc- 
tions, " This done, then let the child by and by both 
construe and parse it over again ; so that it may ap- 
pear that the child doubteth in nothing that his 
master has taught him before. After this, the child 
must take a paper book, and, sitting in some place 
where no man shall prompt him, by himself let him 
translate into English his former lesson. Then show- 
ing it to his master, let the master take from him his 
Latin book, and pausing an hour at the least, then 
let the child translate his own English into Latin 
again in another paper book." 

Ascham is the pioneer in education in developing 
and laying stress upon a good, unique, and clear 
method in the study of language. What he has to 
say about method in language study, others have car- 
ried out to logical conclusions in applying scientific 
methods to all educational work. 

MICHEL de MONTAIGNE: 1533-1592 

Montaigne received his education from private in- 
struction and the College of Guienne at Bordeaux. 
Later he became a lawyer. Not caring to devote his 
life to politics, he retired to his estate, where he 
wrote his famous " Essays." In his " Essays," 
Montaigne has many pertinent thoughts on educa- 
tion. He showed marked reactionary and practical 
tendencies in reference to the educational ideals of his 
time. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 85 

Concerning language study he wrote : " Fine 
speaking is a very good and commendable quality, but 
not so excellent or so necessary as some would make 
it; and I am scandalized that our whole life should 
be spent in nothing else. I would first understand 
my own language, and that of my neighbor with 
whom most of my business and conversation lies." 
He would direct each student to study the world as 
the source of knowledge. Of it he writes : " This 
great world is the mirror wherein we are to behold 
ourselves, to be able to know ourselves as we ought 
to do. In short, I would have this to be the book my 
young gentlemen should study with the most atten- 
tion; for so many humors, so many sects, so many 
judgments, opinions, laws, and customs, teach us to 
judge right of our own, and inform our understand- 
ings to discover their imperfections and natural in- 
firmity, which is no trivial speculation." 

In Montaigne's writings we see another advance in 
education. The study of books and the world was to 
teach the student to think. Montaigne's theories 
were afterwards elaborated upon by Locke and Rous- 
seau. 

FRANCIS BACON: 1561-1626 

Bacon was born in London in 1561. He received 
his education at the University of Cambridge, Paris, 
and by private instruction. He became a lawyer, 
and in a short time he became recognized as a man of 
marked ability. During the reign of James I he 
arose to positions of honor and influence. In 1618 
he was appointed to the eminent position of Lord 
High Chancellor. 



86 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Bacon may well be called the father of modern 
scientific education. In his writings he condemns the 
humanistic studies of his time which suppressed re- 
search and investigation. 

His greatest work, the " Novum Organwm," which 
was published in 1620, set forth his principles of edu- 
cation and philosophy. His whole work is practical 
and quite modern in tone. He objects to religion 
and the classics occupying the front rank in educa- 
tion. Bacon criticised the educational standards of 
his time as too formal. He urged students to investi- 
gate and carry on successful research work in Na- 
ture. He stated that investigation was essential to 
true scientific education. For example, he wrote: 
" It would, indeed, be dishonorable to mankind if the 
regions of the material globe, the earth, the sea, and 
the stars, should be so prodigiously developed and 
illustrated in our age, and yet the boundaries of the 
intellectual globe should be confined to the narrow 
discoveries of the ancients." 

In general, the Baconian philosophy is set forth by 
the following aphorism : " There are two ways of 
searching after and discovering truth ; the one, from 
sense and particulars, rises directly to the most gen- 
eral axioms, and resting upon these principles and 
their unshaken truth, finds out intermediate axioms, 
and this is the method in use; but the other raises 
axioms from sense and particulars by a continued 
and gradual ascent, till at last it arrives at the most 
general axioms, which is the true way, but hitherto 
untried." 

Scholastic speculation has no place in Bacon's edu- 
cational program. He upholds the method of indue- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 87 

tion which has become the basis of scientific educa- 
tion. 

JOHN MILTON: 1608-1674 

John Milton, poet, writer, and educator, was born 
in London in 1608. The writer of " Paradise Lost " 
was vitally and deeply interested in education. His 
definition of education is broad and comprehensive: 
" I call, therefore, a complete and generous education 
that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, 
and magnanimously all the offices, both private and 
public, of peace and war." 

He is an earnest educational reformer in as much 
as he raises his will in protest against the educa- 
tional concept of the age which required pupils of 
tender years to compose verses and essays in Latin 
and Greek. He claimed that these tasks belonged to 
students of mature minds. He also criticised the 
methods of universities in teaching young students 
upon their entrance logic and metaphysics. 

Milton offered a solution of the educational prob- 
lem of his day by proposing a scheme of study which 
was so vast and comprehensive as to enumerate al- 
most every known subject in science and literature. 

WOLFGANG RATICH: 1571-1635 

In the large number of educational reforms pro- 
posed by Ratich, we find not simply the ideas of a 
theorist, but the principles of a practical educator 
set forth. He was born at Wilster, in Holstein, 
1751. He received his education at the Hamburg 
Gymnasium and the University of Rostock. 

After many years of study and effort he prepared 



88 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

a course of study which, in a memorial addressed to 
the Electoral Diet at Frankfort in 1612, he urged 
that body to adopt. His views set forth plans 
whereby all language could be learned in a shorter 
time than by the methods then in vogue. He also 
stated that his plan properly carried out would 
foster the maintenance of language, government, and 
religion uniformly administered. 

A committee was appointed to investigate his pro- 
gram and reported favorably. The report stated in 
part : " Ratich has discovered the art of teaching 
according to nature. By this method languages will 
be quickly learned, so that we shall have time for 
science; and science will be learned even better still, 
as the natural system suits best with science, which is 
the study of nature." 

Eventually, after many failures, in 1619, under 
the patronage of Prince Ludwig of Anhalt-Kothen, 
Ratich was enabled to establish a model school at 
Kothen. He established his own printing house for 
the publication of his text-books. The teachers were 
specially instructed in the use of his methods. The 
school was opened with an enrollment of two hundred 
and thirty-one boys and two hundred and two girls. 

The school from its incipiency seemed to have a 
bright future before it, but various causes brought 
about its failure. Ratich in many ways displeased 
his friends and patrons. Kothen was strongly Cal- 
vinistic, and Ratich, who was Lutheran, was uncom- 
promising in his views and made many bitter enemies. 
The bitter criticism which arose handicapped his 
work and crippled the school. He was also over- 
confident in the promises that he made in expecting 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 89 

his system to accomplish too much. The climax was 
reached when he quarreled with his chief patron, the 
prince, which resulted in the closing of the school. 
He tried to establish his school elsewhere, but with- 
out success, the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War 
hampering him in his efforts. 

Ratich's ideas and methods formed valuable con- 
tributions to education. He was a pioneer among 
educational reformers who advocated the importance 
of the study of the language of one's own country. 
His theories in many respects have been adopted in 
the educational methods of the present time. 

JOHN AMOS COMENIUS: 1592-1671 

Comenius, the son of a Moravian miller, was born 
at Mionic in 1592. He received his education in sev- 
eral German towns, but particularly at Herborn in 
Nassau. In 1616 he became a minister of the Mora- 
vian faith and was installed pastor of the church in 
Fulneck. Here he also took charge of a school and 
became deeply interested in education. He greatly 
enjoyed his work, but his happy life in Fulneck was 
brought to an end. Fulneck was captured by the 
Spaniards in 1621 ; and persecution arising, Com- 
enius was compelled to leave his native country. 
Thus began a sad story in his life ; from this time on 
he became a wanderer and exile in various places on 
the continent. However, he carried on his educa- 
tional labors wherever the opportunity presented it- 
self. 

From 1650 to 1654 Comenius labored in a school 
at Saros-Patok. It was here that he wrote his great 
work on education, " Orbis Pictures." In a short 



90 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

time it became a popular text-book of the schools of 
Europe. The title-page of the work stated that it 
contained " the pictures and names of all the princi- 
pal things in the world, and of all the principal occu- 
pations of man." 

Each lesson was carefully and clearly explained, 
and a picture illustrated the subject of the lesson. 
Comenius thereby sought to have the pupil get a 
true comprehension of each lesson. His plan of edu- 
cation was comprehensive; the vernacular and Latin 
were used. The schools were, — infancy; kindergar- 
ten ; vernacular school from six to twelve years, when 
among the subjects studied were geometry, history, 
music, geography, religion, etc. ; Latin school, which 
taught the liberal arts and philosophy; university 
and research school or college. 

Without a doubt Comenius was the most celebrated 
educational reformer of the seventeenth century. 
He was a prolific author, having written one hundred 
and twenty-seven essays and books. His program 
included a thoroughly organized school system based 
upon consistent educational methods. His schools 
were established in Germany, England, and Sweden. 

He did much to advance the cause of education 
along scientific lines. He advocated a careful study 
and investigation of nature as the ideal of educa- 
tional development. 

" Why shall we not," he says, " instead of dead 
books, open the living book of nature ? " Quick well 
says, " Before Comenius no one had brought the mind 
of a philosopher to bear practically on the subject 
of education. Montaigne and Bacon had advanced 
principles, leaving others to see to their application. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 91 

A few able schoolmasters, Ascham, e.g., had investi- 
gated new methods, but had made success in teaching 
the text to which they appealed rather than any ab- 
stract principle. Comenius was at once a philoso- 
pher who had learnt of Bacon, and a schoolmaster who 
had earned his livelihood by teaching the rudiments. 
Dissatisfied with the state of education as he found 
it, he sought for a better system by an examination of 
the laws of nature." * 

JOHN LOCKE: 1632-1704 

Locke was born near Bristol in 1632. He received 
his educational training at Westminster School and 
Oxford University. Later he studied medicine. As 
a tutor in the Earl of Shaftesbury's family he became 
particular^ interested in education. Here the 
foundations for his epoch-making views were laid. 
In 1689 he wrote his celebrated work, " An Essay 
Concerning Human Understanding," and in 1698 
he published another important treatise, " Some 
Thoughts Concerning Education." 

Locke claimed that the function of education was 
not to give mere book knowledge but to equip men for 
the affairs of practical life. The foundation of edu- 
cation was not to be based on the study of Latin and 
Greek, but on religion. Virtue was the first endow- 
ment that belonged to every man. He says, " As the 
foundation of this, there ought very early to be im- 
printed on his mind a true notion of God, as of the 
independent Supreme Being, Author and Maker of 
all things, from whom we receive all our good, who 
loves us, and gives us all things ; and consequent to 

i Quick: Educational Reformers, page 134. 



92 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

this, instill into him a love and reverence of this Su- 
preme Being." 

There is also an advance made by Locke in his views 
on physical education. He laid down several prac- 
tical rules governing the health of the body and 
stated the importance of observing them. 

He sounded a new note in child nurture. He 
pointed out the folly of trying to educate children in 
any mechanical way. The child nature was to be 
carefully studied and observed, and in that way each 
child would be properly trained. By this method the 
child's personality would be developed, and since his 
training was to be along practical lines, it would 
bring his natural abilities up to the highest point of 
efficiency, thereby enabling him to a better discharge 
of his duties to the world. 

The ideal which Locke had in view, in brief, was 
not scholastic training but efficiency for practical 
life. Or as Quick writes, " In everything the part 
the pupil was to play in life was steadily to be kept 
in view ; and the ideal which Locke proposed was not 
the finished scholar, but the finished gentleman." 

Locke represents the reactionary movement in edu- 
cation which overthrows authority of the past. He 
emphasizes the philosophic side of education more 
than the scientific. His writings show an advance 
movement in pedagogical thought, particularly in the 
importance of child study and the value of the proper 
development of individuality. 

AUGUST FRANCKE: 1663-1727 

Under the leadership of Spener at Frankfort-on- 
the-Main in 1670, a movement was started to increase 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 93 

the religious knowledge and promote evangelical piety 
among the people. Spener held meetings for this 
purpose at his home, Dresden, and Berlin. He 
recognized the existence of formalism and abstract 
orthodoxy in the religious life of Germany. To 
counteract this state of affairs Spener started this 
work of reform. The critics of the movement in de- 
rision gave it the name of Pietism. However, out of 
the discussion and controversy which was aroused, 
Protestantism and religious pedagogy were materi- 
ally benefited. 

The Pietistic movement was advanced along edu- 
cational lines particularly by Francke. He was born 
at Lubeck in 1663. He received his education at 
Gotha, Erfurt, and Kiel. He was a lecturer at Leip- 
sic in 1684 on the Old and New Testaments. His 
lectures were attended by many students. It was 
here he became an advocate of the Pietistic movement. 
In 1692 he was appointed Professor of Greek and 
Oriental Languages at the University of Halle. In 
connection with his university work he also served as 
pastor of one of the local churches. His pastoral 
work brought him in contact with all classes of peo- 
ple, and he was astonished to find so much ignorance 
existing among them, particularly in religious mat- 
ters. To alleviate these conditions Francke started 
a school in a very humble way. He laid stress espe- 
cially on religious instructions. The school eventu- 
ally grew to great proportions. His school em- 
braced the following departments : 

(1) The Pedagoghvm, the highest, in which was 
taught religion, Greek, Hebrew, etc. 



94 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

(£) Orphanage, a home and school for younger 
boys and girls. 

(3) Burgher school, equivalent to a well organized 
primary school. 

(4) Free table, drug and book-store and home for 
women, established for the needy, indigent, and de- 
pendent. 

At the time of Francke's death the total enrollment, 
including teachers, pupils, and others, numbered four 
thousand, two hundred and seventy-three. 

His work at the university, school, and church re- 
quired prodigious efforts. He was a man of deep 
personal piety and sincerity. He advanced the 
method of teaching theology by applying its prin- 
ciples to heart and head alike. 

Francke advanced the science of education in 
theory and practice. He emphasized the importance 
of giving true instruction to the children. The 
child's future is to be borne in mind continually by 
the teacher so that the instruction given may be the 
most helpful and practical. Religious instruction re- 
ceived the first consideration, and then other indis- 
pensable studies were used. His rules in discipline 
underlie, in large measure, the methods in vogue to- 
day. His plan eliminated harshness and extreme 
rigorous punishment, but provided for correction by 
gaining the love and confidence of the children 
through gentleness, affection, and solicitude. 

JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU: 1712-1778 

In the early years of the eighteenth century a new 
movement arose in education which manifested itself 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 95 

according to two tendencies, — the realistic and 
humanistic. However, the advocates of these ten- 
dencies were united in declaring that revealed religion 
had no place in education. 

The greatest advocate of this movement was Rous- 
seau. He belonged to the realist school. He advo- 
cated education from the viewpoint of nature study. 
He was born at Geneva in 1712. In his early boy- 
hood days he was fond of reading, and a large num- 
ber of the works were utterly worthless. His life 
was full of contradictions, not one which we would 
want to emulate. However, his principles of educa- 
tion have found in large measure a permanent place 
in that science. 

His most celebrated work on education bears the 
title of " Emile." In it Rouseau shows himself to be 
an iconoclast with respect to existing religious and 
educational concepts. He advocates five periods of 
development: (1) infancy; (2) early boyhood; (3) 
from the twelfth to the fifteenth year; (4) up to his 
twentieth; (5) the marriage period. In other words, 
education begins with early infancy and extends to 
maturity. 

He urges a careful study of child-nature, but child 
training is to be largely physical development. The 
training of the intellect was to begin with the twelfth 
year. His plan was to develop manhood in its com- 
pletest sense. He says, " In the order of nature all 
men are equal, their common vocation is the estate of 
man; and whoever is well brought up for that will 
not fail in anything belonging to it. It is a matter 
of little importance to me whether my pupil be des- 
tined for arms, for the church, or for the bar. Be- 



96 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

fore the vocation assigned him by his parents, Na- 
ture calls him to human life. To live is the business 
I wish to teach him." 

His theories are very suggestive, and his principles 
have given new views on education, but on the whole 
their applications are impossible. He gave new 
views and new impetus to child study, and these 
theories after all constitute his chief contribution to 
the science of education. 

JOHN BASEDOW: 1723-1790 

Basedow was born in Hornburg in 1723. He pur- 
sued a theological course at the University of Leip- 
sic, but his unorthodox views kept him from the 
ministry. Then he turned to educational work. He 
wrote a number of treatises on education. However, 
Basedow is best known as the founder of the Philan- 
thropin. It was founded at Dessau in 1776. The 
Philanthropin grew out of the general dissatisfaction 
with the schools at the time. Basedow was largely 
governed in his plans and views by Rousseau's 
" Emile." The general idea of his system was every- 
thing according to nature. He claimed that all chil- 
dren were to be educated according to their natural 
inclinations. The child nature was not to be re- 
pressed, but through play each one was to be edu- 
cated. Pictures, objects, minerals, trades, history, 
and commerce were all to be utilized. French and 
Latin were to be taught by conversation. With re- 
spect to religion, only natural religion was to be 
taught. 

The Philanthropin became a well known institution 
and received favorable comment from many compe- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 97 

tent visitors, but it failed to accomplish all that 
Basedow had promised. He possessed little execu- 
tive ability and was not fitted to be the head of the 
school, and in a comparatively short time resigned. 
The Philanthropin was finally closed in 1793. How- 
ever, his experiment and methods were by no means 
useless. Many of his theories have formed the basis 
for kindergarten and primary work of the present 
time. 

JOHANN ERNESTI: 1707-1781 

We have already alluded to the humanistic 
tendency of the educational movement of the eight- 
eenth century. The humanists were strongly op- 
posed to the methods enunciated by Rousseau and 
his followers of the realistic school. The humanists 
laid great stress upon the importance of the study of 
Latin and Greek, not only as a source of culture, 
but on account of their practical value. They said 
Latin and Greek were the sources of culture inasmuch 
as the source documents of philosophy, law, medicine, 
history, etc. were first written in these languages. 

One of the representatives of this humanistic move- 
ment was Ernesti, who was born at Tennstadt in 
Thuringia, August 4, 1707. He was educated at the 
Universities of Wittenberg and Leipsic. In 1742 he 
was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Ancient 
Literature at Leipsic and in 1756 advanced to the 
professorship of rhetoric. His profound scholarship 
was everywhere recognized. His greatest work con- 
sisted in paving the way for a revolution in dogmatic 
theology by disengaging it from the scholastic and 
mystical tendencies which had deformed it. 



98 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

JOHN HENRY PESTALOZZI: 1746-1827 

The opening of the nineteenth century marks the 
beginning of a new epoch in education. Efforts were 
being put forth to place popular education on a more 
scientific basis. The importance of developing ele- 
mentary education had come to be realized, and the 
educators of this century were actively engaged in 
advancing it. The psychological tendency which 
also arose during this period emphasized the impor- 
tance of individual child study. Consequently a new 
interest in child study arose, which manifested itself 
along practical and sympathetic lines. 

One of the reformers who helped to advance the 
cause of new education was Pestalozzi, who was born 
at Zurich, January 12, 1746. Undoubtedly he was 
the greatest educational reformer since the day of 
the Reformation. At the age of six years he lost his 
father; he grew up under the fostering care of a 
pious and excellent mother. In his early school days 
he did not make noteworthy progress in his studies, 
and his fellow students often made him the object of 
their sport and fun. However, his good nature and 
unselfishness won him the friendship of many. More- 
over, his university student days were marked by 
strong scholarship. 

Later he entered the ministry; afterwards he be- 
came a lawyer, farmer, author, and teacher. How- 
ever, in all of his work he was impracticable, injudi- 
cious, and he permitted his sympathies to overbalance 
sound judgment. 

In 1775 he founded a school at Newhof where he 
taught fifty children, but his mismanagement involved 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 99 

him heavily in debt and resulted in closing his school. 
Then followed a long gloomy period in his life, — a 
period of almost twenty years filled with despondency 
and poverty. However, Pestalozzi was not a man 
to waste his time. This became the construction 
period of his life, during which he wrote many vol- 
umes embodying his theories and methods of teach- 
ing. His most notable work, consisting of four 
volumes, was " Leonard and Gertrude," which was a 
sympathetic study of Swiss peasant life. Later he 
wrote another very important work, " How Gertrude 
Teaches Her Children," which set forth the practical 
side of his educational theories. He goes to the 
very foundation of educational ideas. He said, 
" The essential principle of education is not teach- 
ing, it is love." 

In 1804 he established a normal school at Yoerdun 
which soon acquired a world-wide reputation. In 
time teachers trained in accordance with Pestaloz- 
zian ideas were in demand from all the educational 
centers of Europe. This great school received from 
scholars and rulers alike the commendation which it 
merited. As the school grew and developed, Pesta- 
lozzi was unequal to the task of management. Dis- 
sensions arose among the teaching force which re- 
sulted in closing the school. It seemed to Pestalozzi 
that his life work was a failure. 

We cannot read his biography without a sense of 
sympathy going out from our hearts to the noble 
and unselfish character of this good man. However, 
his life was not a failure. His life work produced a 
great revolution along instructive methods in edu- 
cation. 



100 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Some of his principles deserve our attention. The 
early years from seven to twelve, he claimed, were the 
most important. He said, " The child accustomed 
from his earliest years to pray, to think, and to work, 
is already more than half-educated." Education be- 
comes a developing process, proceeding from the 
simple to the complex. He taught that observation 
was an essential factor. The common objects of 
life were used as the basis of instruction. Accord- 
ing to his theory, the emphasis of all intellectual 
training was to be put first on the side of moral and 
religious instruction, which he considered to be identi- 
cal. 

It is impossible to measure the extent of Pesta- 
lozzi's influence on education, which in every respect 
has been profound. His work was continued by his 
pupils, Herbart and Froebel. 

FRIEDRICH FROEBEL: 1783-1852 

Froebel, the son of a Lutheran clergyman, was 
born in Thuringia in 1782. At a tender age he 
lost his mother, and his early life and education were 
considerably neglected. Later, he attended a cou- 
ple of courses of lectures at the universities of Jena 
and Gottingen. He was deeply interested in the 
study of nature, and he longed to come to the knowl- 
edge of nature's application as found in her uni- 
versal laws. 

His thinking and studying led him to be deeply 
interested in the science of education. Finally 
through the persuasion of a friend he was induced 
to enter the teaching profession. In 1826 he pub- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 101 

lished his notable work on " The Education of Man," 
in which he sets forth particularly the education of 
children. 

His theories and observation concerning the edu- 
cation of children led him to open the first kinder- 
garten at Blankenburg, in 1837. He was the first 
educator to take into account the " formative and 
creative instinct " of child life. He recognized that 
the child would not only take in as the intellectual 
development went on, but the active normal child 
would also give out. Consequently he paid great at- 
tention to child activity. He held that the child 
properly trained and developed in the earlier stage 
would be what he should be in his later life. 

Froebel provided for the child's restlessness, and 
in order to direct it into the proper channel he in- 
vented a course of games. The system of games he 
called gifts, so that in their usage the children would 
develop the power of doing, inventing, and creating. 
In writing of his system Quick says, " The children's 
employment is to be play. But any occupation in 
which children engage is play to them ; and Froebel's 
series of employment, while they are in this sense 
play to the children, have nevertheless, as seen from 
the adult point of view, a distinctly educational ob- 
ject." * 

Froebel's theories have contributed in large meas- 
ure in advancing the study of the child to a more 
scientific basis. His ideas have formed the basis of 
kindergarten work of the present time. 

i Quick: Educational Reformers, page 409. 



102 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

JEAN FREDERIC HERBART: 1776-1841 

Herbart was born at Oldenburg, May 4, 1776. 
He was educated at the Universities of Jena and 
Gottingen. Before his thirtieth year he had formu- 
lated certain themes in education which he after- 
wards elaborated and developed. In his " Outline 
of Pedagogical Lectures," which was published in 
1835, his ideas and theories were enlarged. 

He sought to establish a system of metaphysics, 
psychology, logic, aesthetics, and ethics in which 
everything is interdependent and connected. He de- 
veloped the psychological theories of Locke, Rous- 
seau, and Pestalozzi. He rejected the old ideas with 
respect to the psychological faculties of the soul. 
Compayre writes, " The point of departure of the 
psychological conception of Herbart is that there 
are no faculties in the soul. This must be accepted 
in its strictest sense. Herbart does not admit in 
the mind any original force, any native energy. 
Others had dismissed to the land of dreams the old 
machinery of innate ideas ; Herbart went farther, — 
he rejected not only ideas but innate faculties." 1 

The mind is inherently neither good nor bad, but 
it develops one way or another, due to outside or 
external influences. The higher education is to be 
the governing force which is to give definite shape 
to character. These thoughts are the chief charac- 
teristics of the Herbartian tendency. 

Herbart had an ideal which embraced the whole 
of humanity. He saw in the future a better hu- 
manity which would be accomplished by education. 

i Compayre: Herbart and Education by Instruction, 
page 19. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 103 

Herbart believed that the principles of education 
could be effectively applied only by instruction. He 
held that instruction is the largest part of educa- 
tion. With respect to this faith Herbart was be- 
fore his time. The educational world is divided to- 
day over the Herbartian conception. However, we 
agree with Compayre, " He will be proved more and 
more right in the future, because progress hence- 
forth is bound up with an increasing spread of in- 
struction and with the development of science." 

HERBERT SPENCER: 1820-1903 

With Herbart the psychological tendency in edu- 
cation was given new impulse, and under Herbert 
Spencer's guidance the sociological side was empha- 
sized. He recognized the importance of scientific 
studies in educational development, but he believed 
the social factor to be more important. 

His educational writings treated of a variety of 
subjects as follows: (1) physiology, (2) economics, 
(3) rearing of offspring, (4) political and social life, 
(5) aesthetics. His viewpoint of education was that 
culture should not be limited to the few, but should 
be for the many. 

Spencer developed and elaborated many of the 
theories set forth by Pestalozzi. For example, he 
carried out the idea that education is a progressive 
development from the simple to the complex. He 
also upheld the Baconian method of induction. 

He has shown his viewpoint of education to be 
broad and comprehensive. What will be his perma- 
nent contributions toward the advancement of the 
cause of education, only time can tell. 



CHAPTER V 

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 
THE LATER PERIOD (Concluded) 

The Raikes Movement — American Sunday 
Schools — Conventions, Institutes, and Assemblies 
— The Lessons. 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT 

The various educational movements which we have 
briefly traced historically, contributed in many ways 
to advance the cause of religious education of chil- 
dren and young people in general, and particularly 
in laying the foundations of the Sunday School. 

THE RAIKES MOVEMENT 

Robert Raikes was a prosperous and well-to-do 
newspaper publisher and editor of Gloucester, Eng- 
land. The city was a great center of the pin indus- 
try, in which child labor was largely employed. 
During the week children and adults were busy with 
their work, but on Sunday when they were free they 
turned it into a day of drinking and sporting. 
Harris writes, " Bull baiting, bear baiting, badger 
baiting, cock fighting, dog fighting, running, and 
wrestling were the principal pastimes." 

Raikes knew of these conditions, and in order to 

alleviate the social conditions and to provide the 

104 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 105 

children with specific religious instruction, he decided 
to gather the children together to have them taught. 
From this plan developed the modern Sunday School. 

The first school seems to have been started in the 
home of Mr. King, July, 1780, and Mrs. King was 
one of four women employed as teachers at the rate 
of one shilling per Sunday. Mr. Raikes in a letter 
to a friend described the Sabbath School work as fol- 
lows : " The children were to come soon after ten in 
the morning, and stay till twelve; they were then to 
go home and stay till one ; and after reading a lesson 
they were to be conducted to church. After church 
they were to be employed in repeating the catechism 
till half past five and then to be dismissed with an 
injunction to go home without making a noise, and 
by no means to play in the street." 

Mr. Raikes also enlisted the services of the Rev. 
Thomas Stock in his work, and he heartily cooper- 
ated in visiting the schools on a Sunday afternoon 
to examine the progress made and to see that order 
prevailed among the children. 

The movement started by Mr. Raikes was not a 
new one by any means, as schools of a similar char- 
acter existed in the church at least fourteen cen- 
turies previous. They met with success in a greater 
or less degree in the dissemination of religious truth. 
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Sunday 
Schools were established at the following places: 
In Bath, England, 1665"; Roxbury, Massachusetts, 
1674; Norwich, Connecticut, 1676; Plymouth, Mas- 
sachusetts, 1680; Newton, Long Island, 1683; Berks 
and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania (by the 
Schwenkf elders ) , 1734; Ephrata, Pennsylvania, 



106 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

1740; Bethlehem, Connecticut, 1740; Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, 1744; Norham, Scotland, 1757; 
Brechin, Scotland, 1760; Catterick, England, 1763; 
Columbia, Connecticut, 1763; Bedale, England, 
1765 ; Doogh, Antrim County, Ireland, 1770; Bright, 
Dum County, Ireland, 1774; Mansfield, England, 
1778. 

However, it remained for Mr. Raikes to give new 
impetus to the movement whereby it became a large 
part of the religious life of all denominations. The 
founder was a consistent member of the Church of 
England, but the movement in its incipiency was not 
the result of churchly authorization, but of individual 
responsibility. It was considerably later that the 
schools came under the fostering care of the church. 
For a period of three years Mr. Raikes tested his 
experiment of Bible School training before he sought 
to give it world-wide publicity. 

As was stated, he was a prominent newspaper pub- 
lisher of Gloucester and the editor of The Journal. 
In the columns of his paper he gave publicity to the 
movement, showing its successful development and 
laying stress upon the thought in the opportunity 
thus presented of giving religious instruction to the 
young. In an editorial he writes: 

" Some of the clergy in different parts of this 
country, bent upon attempting a reform among the 
children of the lower class, are establishing Sunday 
Schools for rendering the Lord's Day subservient to 
the ends of instruction, which has hitherto been pros- 
tituted to bad purposes. Farmers and other inhabi- 
tants of the towns and villages complain that they 
receive more injury to their property on the Sab- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 107 

bath than all the week besides ; this, in a great meas- 
ure, proceeds from the lawless state of the younger 
class, who are allowed to run wild on that day, free 
from every restraint. To remedy this evil, persons 
duly qualified are employed to instruct those that 
cannot read; and those that may have learnt to 
read are taught the Catechism and conducted to 
church. In those parishes where the plan has been 
adopted, we are assured that the behavior of the 
children is greatly civilized. The barbarous igno- 
rance in which they had before lived being in some 
degree dispelled, they begin to give proofs that those 
persons are mistaken who consider the lower orders 
of mankind incapable of improvement, and therefore 
think and attempt to reclaim them impracticable, or 
at least not worth the trouble." x 

The movement was given additional impulse and 
publicity when the Gentleman's Magazine, a London 
monthly magazine of great influence, published in 
June, 1784, Mr. Raikes' letter to Colonel Townley, 
of Sheffield. After telling of the inception of the 
School movement, he also writes: 

" As my profession is that of a printer, I have 
printed a little book which I gave amongst them; 
and some friends of mine, subscribers to the Society 
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, sometimes make 
me a present of a parcel of Bibles, Testaments, etc., 
which I distribute as rewards to the deserving. The 
success that has attended this scheme has induced 
one or two of my friends to adopt the plan and set 
up Sunday Schools in other parts of the city, and 

i Harris : Robert Raikes, The Man and His Work, 
page 62. 



108 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

now a whole parish has taken up the object; so that 
I flatter myself in time the good effects will appear 
so conspicuous as to become generally adopted. 
The number of children at present thus engaged on 
the Sabbath are between two and three hundred, and 
they are increasing every week, as the benefit is uni- 
versally seen." x 

Thus the foundations were firmly laid and the 
growth, though slow at first, pointed to the future 
when the movement would become world-wide in its 
usefulness. Mr. Raikes enlisted the following influ- 
ential people of the time in his cause, — John and 
Charles Wesley, Whitefield, the Bishops of Norwich, 
Salisbury, Llandaff, the Earls of Ducie and of Salis- 
bury, John Newton, William Cowper, William Fox, 
and others. Through the instrumentality of Fox, 
on September 7, 1785, the General Sunday School 
Society for the promotion of the work was organized, 
with headquarters at London. The queen learned 
of the great good the schools were accomplishing, 
and in an interview with the queen, Mr. Raikes told 
of the work. Concerning this interview he wrote to 
the Rev. Heckens thus: "Her Majesty most gra- 
ciously said that she envied those who had the power 
of doing good by thus personally promoting the 
welfare of society, in giving instruction and morality 
to the general mass of the common people ; a pleasure 
from which, by her situation, she was debarred." 2 

There were many who opposed the work of Mr. 
Raikes. The Archbishop of Canterbury made an 

i Harris : Robert Raikes, The Man" and His Work, 
page 308. 

2 Gregory: Robert Raikes, page 95. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 109 

effort through his bishops to stop it, but without 
success. It was also opposed for some time in Scot- 
land. However, the Sunday Schools had many 
friends who defended the movement by voice and pen. 
The opposition aroused greater interest in the 
schools, and as a consequence they began to be or- 
ganized and grow more rapidly. Every great re- 
form and constructive work has always had enemies, 
but their worth has outlived all opposition. Thus 
the Sunday Schools have grown and increased and 
have become inseparably identified with the church 
in the world-wide mission. 

" In short, it is evident that the great religious 
decline of the eighteenth century was consequent on 
a lack of the divinely designated church school 
agency for the winning and training of the young, 
and that the great religious advance of the nine- 
teenth century is consequent upon a revival and ex- 
pansion of that agency, with its legitimate influence 
and outcome. To the reintroduction of that fea- 
ture into the Protestant church polity we are, under 
God, the chief measure of whatever, in our religious 
life and methods of work, make and mark this cen- 
tury ... as superior to the centuries which it fol- 
lows." x 

AMERICAN SUNDAY SCHOOLS 

At the close of the Revolution the church of the 
young republic was in a disorganized and chaotic 
state. However, the leaders were not discouraged, 
nor did they lose hope for the future. The work of 
reorganization went on slowly, and the foundations 

i Trumbull: The Sunday School, page 120. 



110 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

of church work for the future were firmly and deeply 
laid. Coincident with the work, the need of more 
adequate religious education for the children and 
young people was clearly recognized. 

In order to foster and develop the cause of reli- 
gious instruction, Bishop White and others organ- 
ized the First Day Society in Philadelphia, 1790. 
The Bishop, on a previous visit to England, had 
made a careful study of the Raikes Sunday Schools, 
and those organized by the Society in Philadelphia 
and its vicinity were modeled after them. The effort 
was made particularly to give instructions to those 
children who did not attend the regular church serv- 
ice. The teachers who were employed were, on the 
whole, the day-school masters, and were paid for 
their services. In time this plan was given up. 

In 1790 the Methodist Episcopal Conference of 
Charleston, South Carolina, recommended that Sun- 
day Schools be established for whites and negroes. 
The Conference advised the appointment of teachers 
who would do the work gratuitously. For almost 
twenty-five years the Sunday School work was crip- 
pled and handicapped by the persistent opposition 
of many church leaders and organizations. The op- 
position claimed that the establishment and organiza- 
tion of schools endangered the calling and usefulness 
of the ministerial office by the employment of lay- 
teachers. However, the close of the War of 1812 
marked a new epoch in the development of the church 
and nation. All religious denominations took on a 
new lease of life. This was especially true with re- 
spect to the Sunday School movement. The various 
denominations officially recognized the place and 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 111 

sphere of the schools and incorporated them in their 
organization. American denominations saw the 
great results accomplished by the incorporation of 
the Raikes schools into the English Church, and fol- 
lowed the actions of the old mother country. 

After the War of 1812 the growth of the various 
societies and organizations to help the Sunday School 
movement was quite rapid. In 1816, in New York, 
the Female Union Society for the Promotion of Sun- 
day Schools was organized. Soon afterward the 
New York Union was formed to organize schools for 
boys. In 1817 the Philadelphia Sunday and Adult 
Society was incorporated. " Incorporated by char- 
ter in 1819, it was primarily designed to be a state 
society, but it soon outgrew the original intentions 
of its projectors and took in Sunday School socie- 
ties and local unions in many other states besides 
Pennsylvania. At the time of its incorporation, 
after a little more than two years' progress, it con- 
sisted of 227 unions or societies, 2,653 teachers and 
nearly 20,000 scholars, representing eleven states 
and one territory." * 

The American Sunday School Union was formed 
in 1824 to carry on interdenominational work in the 
interests of Sunday School work in the United States 
and Canada. The Sunday and Adult Society was 
united with the Union with headquarters at Philadel- 
phia. The Union employed a large number of mis- 
sionaries and agents who cooperated with all denomi- 
nations in the establishment of schools, and they took 
the initiative in organizing schools in places where 

i Michael: The Sunday School of the American Church, 
page 70. 



112 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the churches could not begin them. After 1815 in 
New England and 1816 in New Jersey, the schools 
grew and spread rapidly. Thus the work steadily 
progressed throughout the United States until the 
beginning of the Civil War. After the war renewed 
interest was manifested. The different church de- 
nominations took active steps to foster greater inter- 
est and activity on behalf of the schools connected 
with their church organizations. This was shown 
particularly in the publication of a vast amount of 
Sunday School literature. Gradually the work of 
organization developed so that to-day all denomina- 
tions are thoroughly organized for the prosecution 
of Sunday School work, which has come to be recog- 
nized as the right arm of the church work. 

The International Sunday Schools Association 
which was organized in 1872 was the outgrowth of 
the National Convention held in Indianapolis in 1872. 
The International Association takes in all of North 
America. The state, county, city, and district asso- 
ciations of the United States belong to this organ- 
ization. The World's Association includes all na- 
tional and international Sunday School associations 
of the world. 

CONVENTIONS, INSTITUTES, AND ASSEMBLIES 

The great help to be received from conferences on 
Sunday School work was early recognized in the his- 
tory of the schools of the United States. Many local 
conventions were held prior to 1830. Haslett states, 
" In 1832 the first national Sunday School conven- 
tion was held in New York City. At this convention 
220 delegates were present from fourteen states and 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 113 

territories. National conventions were held at Phila- 
delphia in 1833 and in 1859, at Newark in 1869, and 
in Indianapolis in 1872." x 

It was at the latter convention that the Interna- 
tional Uniform Lesson System was adopted. After 
1872 no more National Conventions were held, but 
they were superseded by the International Associa- 
tion conventions, which are held triennially. These 
conventions have been held at the following places : 
1875 in Baltimore; 1899, Atlanta; 1902, Denver; 
1905, Toronto; 1908, Louisville; 1911, San Fran- 
cisco; 1914, Chicago. The following is a complete 
list of World's Conventions : London, England, 
1889; St. Louis, U. S. A., 1893; London, England, 
1898; Jerusalem, Pal., 1904; Rome, Italy, 1907; 
Washington, U. S. A., 1910; Zurich, Switzerland, 
1913. 

For a number of years many summer assemblies, 
chautauquas, and conferences have been held at con- 
venient centers for the discussion of methods, Bible 
study, religious instruction, etc. Many of the larger 
denominations have also instituted similar confer- 
ences and institutes at which their own problems are 
discussed and instruction given, usually by competent 
leaders and lecturers of their own. 

The keynote to-day is greater efficiency in Sun- 
day School work along all lines, but particular em- 
phasis is laid on the educational side. The present 
tendency in great conventions and conferences is to 
get away from considering these vital questions in 
the midst of a great mass of people, perhaps num- 
bering thousands, and to divide the convention into 

iHaslett: The Pedagogical Bible School, page 45. 



114 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

sectional institutes where the problem may be con- 
sidered more carefully and beneficially. Formerly 
the conventions begot great enthusiasm, but the ac- 
complishment of real serious educational work was a 
negligible quantity. At these conferences or insti- 
tutes, courses under the guidance of trained teachers 
are offered in teacher training, church history, mis- 
sions, doctrines, Bible history, child psychology, etc. 
Almost all of the denominational publication houses 
have also published text-books for their people who 
desire to pursue courses on teacher training. Many 
schools, colleges, etc., have also instituted courses for 
teacher training, superintendents, pastor's assistants, 
etc. The present tendency is greater efficiency along 
educational lines, and the church and Sunday School 
of to-morrow will reap greater benefits in their work. 

THE, LESSONS 

In the earliest Sunday Schools reading and writing 
were taught in addition to religious subjects. The 
majority of the children came from the destitute 
classes, which made this instruction necessary. The 
Sunday School revolutionized the English school sys- 
tem, and out of it came the modern elementary 
schools. 

The English Church Catechism was the principal 
book studied. The lessons in the Catechism and 
numerous Bible texts were memorized. The memori- 
ter work was carried to extremes, and the folly of it 
was later seen and much of it came to be eliminated. 

About 1825 the instruction gradually reached a 
more systematic form. One year later the American 
Sunday School Union published a series of uniform 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 115 

lessons. Later the Sunday School Union of London 
issued lesson series with brief notes and comments to 
guide the pupil. 

In 1865 the Rev. J. H. Vincent issued a new series 
of lessons. After a number of changes were insti- 
tuted the lessons appeared in 1866 under the cap- 
tion : " Two Years With Jesus ; A New System of 
Sunday School Study." Each year covered a course 
of twenty-four lessons. The first year's study was 
devoted to the life, journeys, and miracles of Jesus. 
The second included the parables, conversations, and 
discourses of Jesus. A golden text was chosen for 
each lesson, which was expected to be memorized. 
The lessons were used in a large number of schools. 

As time went on the need of more uniform lessons 
became more apparent. Finally, at the National 
Convention held in Indianapolis in 1872, the subject 
was carefully considered, and a committee was ap- 
pointed to arrange a series of lessons covering the 
whole Bible and to extend over a period of seven 
years. The course proposed by the committee was 
published and was used by many schools from the 
beginning. This series marked the beginning of the 
International Lessons. 



CHAPTER VI 

PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY 

Definition — Body and Mind — The Br am — The 
Nerves — The Stream of Thought — Attention — 
Knowing , Feelmg, and Willing — Perception — Con- 
ception — Memory and Imagination — Habit and 
Judgment — Apperception — Psychology and Reli- 
gious Education. 

DEFINITION 

Psychology is frequently defined as the science of 
the soul. This definition is comprehensive, but is 
lacking in explicitness. Psychology has to do with 
the mind and soul, which investigators in our psycho- 
logical laboratories to-day agree are one and the 
same. Many who claim that psychology is the sci- 
ence of the soul speak of the soul as thinking, feel- 
ing, and acting; but these same states apply to the 
mind as well. It is not sufficient to limit the defini- 
tion to the states of the soul, for to do so fails to 
comprehend the unity of soul with mind, and as such 
it is to be treated. 

Psychologists have much to say about thoughts, 
feelings, and acts, but about the thing itself which 
thinks, feels, and acts, they know nothing. In order 
to grasp the definition of psychology from the view- 
point of the unity of the mind, it is not only necessary 

116 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 117 

to understand it in the light of the will, thinking, feel- 
ing, and acting, but all the experiences of the soul 
must be taken into consideration. 

Dr. Gordy, therefore, gives the following clear-cut 
and comprehensive definition of psychology as " the 
science of the experiences, phenomena, or facts of the 
mind, soul, or self — of mental facts, in a word." * 
He writes further concerning mental fact as " a fact 
known or knowable to but one person directly, and 
that the person experiencing it ; and psychology is the 
science of mental facts, or the science of the facts of 
mind." 

BODY AND MIND 

Experience and study show there is a very close 
relationship between body and mind. There is an old 
adage which says that " a sound mind exists only in a 
sound body." Education to-day lays stress upon the 
fulfillment of this truth. A few simple illustrations 
will suffice to show the relationship between body and 
mind. A certain young man who was ambitious to 
get a college education worked at hard manual labor 
during the day and attended college classes at night, 
but he was so mentally exhausted from physical ef- 
fort that it was with extreme difficulty that he per- 
formed his tasks. We know a professional man who 
occupied a sphere of large usefulness and influence in 
a certain community, but he lost it, and destroyed 
his normal use of bodily and mental functions as well, 
because he was addicted to the use of a certain drug. 
At first he used it to stimulate his mental powers; 
later he became a slave to the habit. Common daily 

i Gordy: New Psychology, pages 69 and 70. 



118 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

experiences of life testify to the intimate relationship 
of body and mind. 

THE BRAIN 

Investigations by physiologists and psychologists 
show that the brain is the organ of the mind and par- 
ticular parts of the brain are the " localization of 
mental functions." In other words, certain portions 
of the brain are closely connected with particular 
mental activities. 

It will be interesting to compare the weight and size 
of the brain of animals with man's. The brain of a 
matured whale weighs about five pounds, an elephant's 
brain weighs the five-hundredth part of the weight of 
its body and a man's, about one-thirty-sixth part of 
his own weight. The average weight of man's brain 
is forty-eight ounces and that of woman forty-four 
ounces. The human brain is divided into three princi- 
pal parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the 
medulla oblongata. 

The cerebrum, in man, is the larger division of the 
brain, weighs several pounds, and occupies the an- 
terior portion of the skull. It functionates thought, 
feeling, emotion, will, and intelligence. If the cere- 
brum is removed, there may be activity and movement, 
but consciousness is lacking. 

The cerebellum, which is sometimes known as the 
little brain and weighs only a few ounces, is located in 
front of and above the medulla oblongata. The 
tentorium separates it from the cerebrum. The cere- 
bellum functionates in the entire control of muscular 
action. 

The medulla oblongata connects the brain with the 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 119 

spinal cord. It is the center of the muscles which 
produce articulate speech, facial expression, respir- 
ation, and other functions. 

THE NERVES 

We have mentioned the close relationship which ex- 
ists between the body and the brain. This is shown 
by an illustration which will bring out facts about the 
nerves which we wish to discuss briefly. Suppose you 
are pricked by a pin. The sharp point touches a 
nerve which causes pain, and immediately your hand is 
directed to the spot and you remove the pin. How 
did you know where to find the place of pain ! The 
moment the point of the pin pricked the nerve, the dis- 
turbance caused thereby was carried to the brain by 
the nervous system at the rate of thirty feet per sec- 
ond. Reaching the brain, a certain amount of force 
is generated which sets the will in motion and flows 
along the nerves to the muscles and directs them to re- 
move the pin. 

If one were to dissect an animal of the mammalia 
type, — the cat, for example, — one would find many 
white cords, large and small; some you could trace 
with the naked eye, others are so minute that they 
could be seen only under a powerful microscope, — 
these are the nerves. The unit of the nervous system 
is the nerve cell, of which it is estimated there are 
about three thousand million in man's entire central 
nervous system. 

The nerves are divided into two classes : the afferent 
and efferent nerves. Dr. Gordy summarizes these 
classes as follows : the first class connect some sensi- 
tive structure, as the skin, the retina, the nervous 



120 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

membrane of the stomach, at their peripheral termina- 
tion, with the center; the second connect the center 
with the muscles to which they are attached at their 
peripheral termination. 

The first class are excited to activity by some struc- 
ture at their peripheral termination and transmit 
nervous action to the center. They are, therefore, 
called afferent, incarrying, or centripetal nerves. 
The second class are excited to activity by the nerve 
centers with which they are connected, and transmit 
nervous excitation to the muscles with which they are 
connected at their peripheral extremity. They are, 
therefore, called efferent, out-carrying, centrifugal, 
or motor nerves. 

THE STREAM OF THOUGHT 

We are indebted to Professor James for this strik- 
ing phrase. He likens thought to a stream wherein, 
as it moves along in the realm of consciousness, one 
idea now predominates and then another. As these 
ideas come along, the mind is able to focus itself on 
whatever idea it chooses. 

According to Dr. James there are five character- 
istics in thought. 

( 1 ) Every thought tends to be part of a personal 
consciousness. In other words, each individual 
thought is a personal thought. It is to be denomi- 
nated as my thought, as belonging to me personally. 

(2) Within each personal consciousness thought 
is always changing. That is, we may recall thought 
along the same line as we had thought of it previously, 
but thought as recalled will not be the same as in the 
former state. The thought has changed. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 121 

(3) Within each personal consciousness thought is 
sensibly continuous. We may be asleep, but thought 
in our sub-conscious self continues. As long as con- 
sciousness lasts the stream of thought continues. 

(4) It always appears to deal with objects inde- 
pendent of itself ; that is, it is cognitive, or possesses 
the function of knowing. Concerning this point 
James further says : w A mind which has become 
conscious of its own cognitive function, plays what we 
have called ' the psychologist ' upon itself. It not 
only knows the things that appear before it ; it knows 
that it knows them. This stage of reflective condi- 
tion is, more or less explicitly, our habitual adult 
state of mind." 

(5) It is interested in some parts of these objects 
to the exclusion of others, and welcomes or rejects 
— chooses from among them, in a word — all the 
while. 

" The importance of mind impressions to us vary. 
Upon some of these objects we place more attention 
than others. Experience shows that strict and care- 
ful attention can only be given to one object at a 
time." 1 

ATTENTION 

We have noted that in the discussion of the stream 
of consciousness our mental experiences are continu- 
ally changing and directing our attention to one ex- 
perience and then to another. The question arises, 
What is attention? Attention is the concentration of 
consciousness as applied to any subject or object. 
Dr. Gordy defines it as " that act of the mind by 

i James : Psychology, Vol. I, pages 224-290. 



l«a THE ESSENTIALS OF 

which we bring into clear consciousness any subject or 
object before the mind." 1 

Dr. Royce states : " Attention is a process that 
involves states of mind and physical activities which 
tend to satisfy such an intellectual interest, or is the 
process of furthering our current interest in an ex- 
perience when viewed just as an experience." 2 

There are two kinds of attention, which Dr. Gordy 
designates as involuntary and voluntary, which Dr. 
Royce calls passive and active, but which we prefer to 
term spontaneous and compulsory. By spontaneous 
attention is meant when the mind centers itself readily 
and without effort upon the idea or object. By com- 
pulsory attention the will must whip the mind into 
condition, so to speak, to center or to focus itself 
upon the idea or object. So important is attention 
that education cannot be had without it. It is the 
foundation of secular and religious education. 

Perception is dependent upon attention. Day 
after day an individual may pass a number of houses 
on the street in which he lives without noticing their 
form of architecture, color, the shades of window 
blinds, etc. If he makes up his mind that he will 
notice something new about those houses each day, he 
will be surprised to note how many things he has not 
previously observed. Why? He has not perceived 
those things because his mind has not attended to 
them. 

Memory is dependent upon attention. We realize 
the importance of this fact when we read or look hur- 
riedly and carelessly, and when we are vitally inter- 

i Gordy: New Psychology, page 111. 

2 Royce: Outlines of Psychology, page 1. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 123 

ested and attend to our reading. In the former 
case what we read is forgotten almost the moment 
that we have finished it ; in the latter case we remem- 
ber the substance of what we have read, because we 
attended to it and it was stamped upon our mem- 
ory. 

The power of reasoning is dependent upon atten- 
tion. Take a little child for example. He learns to 
reason by experience, and this comes about through 
attention. Watch him at play building a house with 
his blocks. If the house falls down because he placed 
a block in the wrong position, the next time he builds 
it up he will try to avoid his previous mistake, and he 
will attend to it very carefully, lest he fail. He de- 
velops his reasoning powers by attention. 

Feeling is dependent upon attention. An indi- 
vidual is sometimes met who seems to be lacking in 
feeling. For example, he cannot sympathize, because 
he cannot attend. The word sympathy seems to 
mean very little to him, because his experiences have 
been foreign to it. This is indeed possible where an 
individual has been indifferent to this feeling. To 
be sympathetic likewise depends upon attending to it 
and developing it. The same is true of all feelings. 
Thus it is seen that attention plays a vital part in 
our mental experiences. The importance of care- 
fully training the mind to properly concentrate itself 
is at once seen and realized. This is the basis of true 
education. 

KNOWING, FEELING, AND WILLING 

These three states of the mind we are experiencing 
continually. We are invariably knowing, feeling, 



lm THE ESSENTIALS OF 

and willing at the same time. However, we cannot 
know, feel, or will distinctly at the same time. 

For example, a Bible School teacher cannot expect 
his pupils to know very much about the truths to be 
learned from the lesson when the boys have discussed 
base-ball prior to the study of the lesson. Their 
minds are full of the sport, and they are unable to 
concentrate them on the study of the lesson. They 
have indulged themselves in the feeling of pleasure, 
and their minds are handicapped for the study period 
— to know intensively. 

Again, when a man becomes mad with anger so that 
he loses control of his temper, and his feelings are in- 
tense, and he does and says things which he would not 
do in his normal condition, we see that his mind is not 
under the control of his will, but he does these things 
because his feelings are intense. 

Illustrations could be multiplied, but these are suf- 
ficient to show what we mean when we state that we 
cannot know, feel, or will intensely at the same 
time. 

PERCEPTION 

Dr. Gordy has aptly written, " All knowledge takes 
its rise in sensation." This idea underlies the defini- 
tion of perception as given by Dr. James : " The 
consciousness of particular material things present 
to sense is nowadays called perception." 1 

To illustrate, — in order to apprehend an apple by 
the eye, the sensations of color, taste, touch, smell, 
etc., are grouped together. This involves the work of 
the mind. It is perception. In order to reach this 

i James: Psychology, Vol. IT, page 76. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 125 

perception, the mind went through a series of proc- 
esses (summarizing the idea of Dr. Gordy) ; it was 
conscious of a distinctive, definite sensation ; it 
grouped this sensation with the recollection of sensa- 
tions already experienced; and it thought of these 
sensations as qualities of objects having a more or 
less definite position in space. 

CONCEPTION 

The young child receives impressions on his mind, 
but at first he is unable to interpret these perceptions. 
However, gradually he comes to note the difference 
between loud and soft tones, heat and cold, disagree- 
able and agreeable tastes, etc. In time these things 
make an impression on his senses, and eventually he is 
able to distinguish each as a particular impression. 
As consciousness develops he is able to determine and 
classify the products of his senses, such as persons, 
animals, plants, etc. 

The child does not have true and genuine con- 
ceptions until that state of consciousness has been 
reached whereby he is able to distinguish individuals 
of the same class. For example, a little boy calls his 
father " papa," and every time he sees him he calls 
him " papa," but that same boy also calls every man 
who talks to him or comes close to him, " papa." 
That child does not have a proper concept of his 
father as an individual compared with other men. 
Not until a higher state of consciousness has been 
reached will that child have a concept of his " papa " 
as a man different from other men. When that time 
comes he will cease calling other men " papa," because 
by comparison with his concept of " papa," — a man 



126 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

— he will have the conception that other men are dis- 
tinctive men, but not his " papa." 

Thus may be seen what important parts percep- 
tion and conception play in our mental experiences. 
One of the great problems of education is the utiliza- 
tion of these experiences by each pupil for the cre- 
ation of the right kind of world in which to live. 
Each child must be taught to properly observe things 
in nature and life as it exists about us. We make our 
moral world, religious world, yes, whatever kind of 
world we choose. Thus we see how necessary it is 
for the child to be properly taught to look at things 
from the proper viewpoint, in order that his moral 
and religious, etc., world may be the proper kind ; and 
that in time he should be placed on his own responsi- 
bility he should be able to put the proper value on his 
perception and conceptions and create the proper 
kind of world on his own initiative. 

MEMORY AND IMAGINATION 

Memory is an act of the mind whereby it retains 
ideas and reproduces these impressions when neces- 
sary. 

For memory to fully functionate it is dependent 
upon five powers: (1) attention, (2) retention, (3) 
reproduction, (4) recognition, and (5) localization. 

(1) Attention. For ideas to be deeply impressed 
on the mind and to be remembered we must give close 
attention to them. If one is interested in the facts 
one will remember them the more easily. 

(2) Retention. After we have attended to ideas 
and impressed them on our minds, then comes the next 
step of retaining them. There are some children who 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 127 

can memorize certain things, verses, etc., in a short 
time and repeat them verbatim without a single omis- 
sion, but in a few weeks they may have forgotten them 
entirely. There are others who must study hard and 
long to learn these same verses, but they make a deep 
impression on their memory, and they are able to re- 
tain them indefinitely. 

(3) Reproduction. This factor of memory is 
self-explanatory. It is the power whereby we are 
able to reproduce the ideas which the memory has re- 
tained. 

(4) Recognition. After the memory has recalled 
the fact, then there must be recognition of it. Not to 
recognize what the memory has reproduced is rather 
unusual. An individual may see the face of a person 
that he knows very well, and he will recognize him 
immediately. 

(5) Localization. By the association of ideas we 
are able to recall similar ideas or experiences. Thus 
it is that at times in recalling some past experience a 
similar experience is likewise recalled without recall- 
ing the time or place where it occurred. By this law 
of association we are able to localize our experiences 
and recognize each one as taking place at a definite 
place and time. There are some people who have 
difficulty in recalling names or sometimes in giving 
the right name to people. These same people have 
overcome this difficulty by learning to pay careful at- 
tention to the name when they are told it and by asso- 
ciating the name with some distinctive trait of the 
person such as speech, complexion, dress, etc. When 
they meet that same individual they will not only 
recognize him, but by the localization of their recol- 



128 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

lections they will greet him by calling him by his 
name. 

Closely related to, and dependent upon, memory is 
imagination. Dr. Gordy defines imagination as " the 
power of the mind to form ideas of things not pres- 
ent." 

At a very early age the child will display powers of 
imagination which are based upon mental experiences 
of memory. For example, a certain little boy, two 
and one-half years of age, was fond of seeing a loco- 
motive pull a train of cars. At home in his play he 
used his blocks to represent the locomotive and cars. 
In testing him some one would say, " They are 
blocks," " No, no," he replied very earnestly ; " my 
train." These blocks to him represented a real loco- 
motive and train of cars. 

The child will also imagine things not based upon 
his experience. He imagines all kinds of things. 
Here is seen the importance for the student of re- 
ligious education, and for the Bible School teacher 
who has much to do with children, the importance of 
making a study of the children under his supervision 
to see that they develop the right kind of constructive 
imagination. It is possible for children to have the 
most distorted ideas and conceptions of religious 
ideals. The constructive imagination is dependent 
upon the materials of the reproductive imagination. 
The vital thing to do there is by careful, simple, con- 
crete teaching to impress the child mind, by funda- 
mental truth and by simple questioning to test the 
constructive imagination of its development along 
consistent lines. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 129 



HABIT AND JUDGMENT 

The little child taking his first step in learning to 
walk does so with trembling. In a little while he 
has more confidence in himself, and he is able to walk 
l little farther. Gradually he has learned to con- 
trol the muscles of his legs and to take accurate steps 
without the least difficulty. This is but an illustra- 
tion of habit, by which we mean the performance of 
any mental or physical action which is acquired by 
frequent repetition and becomes a fixed tendency in 
one's nature. 

By judgment, quoting from Dr. Gordy, is meant 
" the mental assertion of some kind of reality — the 
transformation or relating of separate units or ele- 
ments of thought into one whole, in which each sus- 
tains definite and fixed relations to the rest." * 

To illustrate: a man meets a gentleman 
who much resembles a college classmate whom he 
has not seen for a decade, but the stranger is differ- 
ent enough in every way so that he is not certain. 
However, looking at the left hand and seeing that the 
stranger's little finger is crooked, he recalls the fact 
that his friend's finger was likewise crooked, the result 
of a closely contested baseball game in college days 
which this same man was instrumental in winning. 
By associating all these ideas, he is certain that his 
judgment is correct and that this is the man. 

Habit in a certain sense is the basis for correct 
judgment in all states. Habit is the resultant of a 
well ordered and governed mind. It forms the basis 

i Gordy: New Psychology, page 311. 



130 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

for correct and properly constituted judgments. 
When one's mentality is properly controlled, invari- 
ably judgment will be properly formed. Thus defi- 
nite judgment of all kinds can only be formed where 
every point is clearly established and identified. 

APPERCEPTION 

By apperception we mean the process whereby the 
mind assimilates new ideas already present or exist- 
ing, as Dr. James has explained it in his masterly way 
in the following quotation : 

" Nothing is more congenial, from babyhood to the 
end of life, than to be able to assimilate the new to the 
old, to meet each threatening violator or " buster " 
of our well-known series of concepts as it comes in, 
see through its unwontedness, and ticket it off as an 
old friend in disguise. This victorious assimilation 
of the new is in fact the type of all intellectual pleas- 
ure. The lust for it is curiosity. The relation of 
the new to the old, before the assimilation is per- 
formed, is wonder. We feel neither curiosity nor 
wonder concerning things so far beyond us that we 
have no concepts to refer them to or standards by 
which to measure them. The Fuegians, in Darwin's 
voyage, wondered at the small boats, but took the big 
ship as ' a matter of course.' Only what we partly 
know already inspires us with a desire to know 
more." * 

PSYCHOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

From our discussion of the principles of psychol- 
ogy we have seen how important a relation it bears to 

i James s Psychology, Vol, II, pages 110 and 111, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 131 

education. It forms the basis of education. So im- 
portant is it that every Bible School teacher should 
be thoroughly grounded in its fundamentals and ap- 
ply those principles in teaching. 

The Bible School teacher with such an ideal in 
view will be vitally interested in teaching. He will 
be earnest minded in seeking to know the content of 
children's minds. A teacher who, through faulty 
preparation and lack of knowledge of psychological 
principles, may say his pupils are " stupid," " indif- 
ferent," and " totally incapable of grasping truths," 
will, if he is sincere, find the fault invariably lies with 
himself rather than with the pupils. The whole trou- 
ble lies in not knowing the content of the child mind. 

The advancement of the Kingdom has suffered 
too much in the past by faulty teaching in our Bible 
Schools. There is no reason why pupils should feel 
they have graduated from the school when they have 
reached the " teen age." This is the time of life 
when they need religious teaching and when they 
should grow into that larger life to render splendid 
service to the church and Bible School. 

Consecrated teachers are needed, but also those 
who combine a thoroughly trained mind psychologi- 
cally with consecration. We believe when teachers 
are thus trained, pupils can be held by the Bible 
School. 

The mistake continually made in Bible School 
teaching is that too much is taken for granted with 
respect to children's knowledge. Too often there is 
assumption that they know things that they do not 
know, and, that they should understand things con- 
cerning which they know nothing. 



132 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

It is not expected that the Bible School teacher is 
to be a specialist in psychological principles, but it is 
expected that each teacher knows the content of the 
child mind in order that each child may be properly 
taught. Herein will be found the success of Bible 
School teaching. 



CHAPTER VII 

CHILD DEVELOPMENT 

Comparative Development — Two Factors — 
Heredity: Physical, intellectual, and moral heredity 
— Environment. 

COMPARATIVE DEVELOPMENT 

Dr. Nathan Oppenheim in his charming little vol- 
ume, " The Development of the Child," has two en- 
lightening chapters on the comparative development 
of the child. The facts we present here are in large 
part a resume of his views on the comparative de- 
velopment of the child. 

Educational experience and comparative study of 
the child and adult have led to the adoption of the 
principles that a line of distinctive instruction is to 
be followed in the training of the child quite differ- 
ent from that presented for the mature mind. 

There are many people, particularly parents, who 
think their children differ from themselves only in size 
and immaturity. However, as Dr. Oppenheim shows, 
they are alike only in the most general ways. We 
can give only a few brief facts in the comparative 
development of the child life, but they will suffice 
to illustrate our point sufficiently. A resume of Dr. 
Oppenheim's investigations are as follows : 

For instance, one may say that children are more 

supple than adults, but not merely because they are 

133 



1M THE ESSENTIALS OF 

younger; it is rather because they have relatively a 
greater proportion of muscle tissue and a smaller 
proportion of tendons. Then there is actually less 
of the elements which make the body rigid. A word 
about the head. In the infant the breadth of the 
skull in its thickest diameter equals or even may ex- 
ceed the total height of the skull and face, while in 
the adult it is about three-quarters of it. In the eye 
one finds about two-thirds of the growth accomplished 
in earliest infancy. On the other hand, the recessus 
opticus, a transverse groove leading to the optic 
nerve, is more marked at birth than in adult life. 

In the lungs during the first two years of life, the 
walls of the alveoli or air spaces are thick, and 
their blood vessels are loosely held. It is not until 
the fourth or fifth year that the proportionate adult 
development between the alveoli and the bronchi be- 
gins to be obtained, and the stroma or connective tis- 
sue frame-work has become dense and binding, re- 
straining the capillaries as in adult life. Neverthe- 
less, in spite of the approximation towards adult 
proportions, the neighboring parts do not imme- 
diately fall into line. This we see from the fact that 
the diaphragm, situated just below these structures, 
lies higher than in the adults. 

In children the brain is large, but chemically it 
contains a large percentage of water; it is, there- 
fore, softer than in adult life, and the specific gravity 
is lower. Its gray and white substances differ very 
little from each other in color and composition. And 
not only in the brain, but also in almost ail the tis- 
sues, there is a marked difference between child life 
and adult age. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 165 

Educational reformers and scientific investigators 
have firmly established the principle which clearly 
shows that a distinctive line of training must be 
adaptable to child life in secular and religious in- 
struction. Home training of the child must likewise 
be borne in mind in order that the child may be prop- 
erly instructed. 

TWO FACTORS 

Dr. Drummond points out significantly that " we 
are coming to recognize that the primary aim in edu- 
cation should be, not instruction in subjects, but de- 
velopment of mind." In other words, education has 
to do in childhood with the development of person- 
ality. For it is personality which is the foundation 
of character. 

The two factors which determine the nature of 
child personality are heredity and environment. 

HEREDITY 

What is it? In order to understand it, a number 
of definitions will be in order. " Heredity is that 
biological law by which all beings endowed with life 
tend to repeat themselves in their descendants ; it is 
for the species what personal identity is for the in- 
dividual. By it a groundwork remains unchanged 
amid incessant variation; by it nature ever copies 
and imitates herself." * 

Weismann says, " It is the process which renders 
possible that persistence of organic beings through- 
out successive generations, which is generally thought 

i Ribot: Heredity, page 1. 



136 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

to be so well understood and to need no special ex- 
planation." 1 

The general conception of heredity is that " like 
begets like " ; in theory this ideal is correct, but prac- 
tically the law of life does not work out with such 
mathematical precision. The law is more simple in 
the vegetable world, more complex among the higher 
animals, and becomes particularly more complicated 
in man. 

With respect to the laws of heredity, Ribot shows 
that there are four : 

( 1 ) Direct Heredity. It consists in the transmis- 
sion of paternal and maternal qualities to the chil- 
dren. He shows there are two aspects of this form: 

a. The child takes after father and mother equally 
as regards both physical and moral characters, — a 
case, strictly speaking, of very rare occurrence, for 
the very ideal of the law would then be realized. 

b. The child, while taking after both parents, more 
specially resembles one of them; and here 
again we must distinguish between two cases. The 
first of these is when the heredity takes place in the 
same sex from father to son, from mother to daugh- 
ter. The other, which occurs more frequently, is 
where heredity occurs between different sexes — from 
father to daughter, from mother to son. 

(2) Reversional Heredity. This law is sometimes 
called atavism. It consists in the reproduction in 
the descendants of the moral or physical qualities 
of their ancestors. It occurs frequently between 

i Weisman : Essays ost Heredity, Oxford Translation, 
page 71. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 137 

grandfather and grandson, grandmother and grand- 
daughter. 

(3) Collateral or Indirect Heredity. This is of 
rarer occurrence than the foregoing, and subsists, as 
indicated by its name, between individuals and their 
ancestors in the indirect line, — uncle, or grand-uncle 
and nephew, aunt and niece. 

(4) Heredity of Influence. Finally, to complete 
the classification we must mention the heredity of in- 
fluence, very rare from the physiological point of 
view, and of which probably no single instance is 
proved in the moral order. It consists in the repro- 
duction in the children by a second marriage of some 
peculiarity belonging to a former spouse." x 

It would be very interesting and instructive to 
trace each law in its details, but this would be beyond 
the compass of our book. It is our purpose to trace 
the general application of the laws along the lines of 
physical, intellectual, and moral heredity. 

PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND MORAL HEREDITY 

As the result of extensive studies on the problem 
of heredity, Galton has formulated the following law : 
" Each parent contributes on an average one quarter, 
or (0.5), 2 each grandparent one-sixteenth, or (0.5), 4 
and so on, and generally the occupier of each an- 
cestral place in the n th degree, whatever be the value 
of n, contributes (0.5) 2n of the heritage." This is 
not the ideal way to express the law of heredity, and 
many exceptions will be found to contradict it, but 
the principle enunciated by Galton is true. As Dr. 

iRibot: Heredity, page 147. 



138 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Drummond has pointed out so clearly, the " doctrine 
of heredity is a kind of scientific determinism." 

Concerning parentage, place of birth, or the num- 
ber of talents he may be endowed with, the child born 
into the world has no choice. As the result of his 
inheritance each child possesses certain potentialities 
which may or may not be actualized by circumstances, 
education, or individual choice. A child may pos- 
sess the talent to be an artist or musician, but the 
force of circumstances may permit that talent to die. 

Each child inherits certain physical tendencies, and 
the manner in which they will be developed will de- 
pend largely upon the environment of his life. For 
example, a child may be born of tubercular parentage, 
but it does not necessarily follow that the child will 
have the disease. As I write I have in mind such a 
case, but the child has grown to strong, robust man- 
hood, and to see him one would never suppose that he 
was the offspring of tubercular parentage. In his 
early childhood his physical nature was weak, and 
there was every tendency to indicate that he might 
become subject to the dreaded disease. However, 
he was given careful attention as to his food, bodily 
health, air, and exercise, and he outgrew those in- 
herited tendencies. Numerous "similar examples could 
be cited. When the weak physical tendencies are 
properly treated, *' the probability is," in the words 
of Dr. Drummond, " that he will live to a green old 
age." 

It will be in order here to note the tendency of 
heredity with respect to intemperance. There is 
really general agreement among scientists that it is 
impossible to transmit intemperance, but the physical 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 



139 



condition shows a potential tendency which, if sub- 
jected to favorable circumstances, will invariably lead 
to the drink habit. Scientific investigation shows 
that intemperance also affects the morals and intelli- 
gence of offspring of such parentage. 

Professor H. H. Goddard of the Vineland Train- 
ing School of New Jersey, who has conducted special 
research work along the lines of heredity with respect 
to feeble-minded children, reports the following, which 
is represented by a chart. 



0-rO [ilk-r-Q 



El-j^0^i6^}-r-©li-H ^Q 




The symbols used in this chart are the following: 
square indicates male; circle indicates female. A 
capital letter indicates disease, habit, or condition, 
as follows: A, alcoholic (habitual drunkard); F, 
feeble-minded, either black letter, or white letter on 
black ground (the former when sex is unknown) ; 
T, tuberculous; D, died, Inf., infancy; hand shows 
which child is in the institution for feeble-minded; 
Illeg., illegitimate; C, criminal. 

" The explanation of the chart is as follows : On 
the lowest line, which represents the brothers and 
sisters of the child in the institution, the children are 
indicated in the order of birth, — the oldest to the 



140 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

left. This chart shows the maternal grandparents 
feeble-minded, and they have, as usual, only feeble- 
minded offspring — two girls. One of these married 
a feeble-minded man whose brother was feeble-minded 
and a criminal, and whose sister was disgracefully 
alcoholic. However, a normal brother of the hus- 
band married a normal woman and had six normal 
children. The offspring of the feeble-minded woman 
and this feeble-minded man were three feeble-minded 
children and two others who died in infancy. An 
illegitimate child of this woman is feeble-minded and a 
criminal." 1 

The examples cited as the result of physical 
heredity are but a few of the thousands that could be 
mentioned. Illustrations showing the results of in- 
tellectual and moral heredity may also be found in 
abundance. The law of physical heredity is the same 
as applied to intellectual and moral concepts, only 
more complex. The intellectual and moral status 
of our children is the resultant of the inheritance they 
have received from their ancestors. Careful psy- 
chological and educational investigations have shown 
that the child who has inherited strong moral and in- 
tellectual tendencies most readily responds to in- 
struction. The researches of Galtom show that a 
child resembles its parents in mind as well as body. 
Dr. Bradford, who has made careful studies of heredi- 
tary moral and intellectual tendencies, among his 
numerous examples reports the following: 

(1) Poets. " Coleridge was a poet and a meta- 
physician. His son Hartley was also a poet, and 

i H. H. Goddard : Report American Breeders' Association, 
Vol. VI, p. 104 and 105. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 141 

subject in his precocious childhood to visions. His 
imagination was singularly vivid and of a morbid 
character. He inherited also his father's love for 
stimulants. The Rev. Dervent Coleridge, another 
son, was an author likewise, and principal of the 
Chelsea Training College. The daughter, Sara, was 
also a writer, and possessed all her father's indi- 
vidual characteristics. She married her cousin, and 
of this union was born Herbert Coleridge, a philolo- 
gist. If, now, the lineage of Goethe, Hugo, Milton, 
etc., are studied, it will hardly need an argument to 
show that heredity works among the poets." 

(£) Music. "The hereditary character of musi- 
cal talent is well known. Allegri, author of the 
* Miserere/ was of the same family as Correggio 
the painter, and the artistic talents are probably 
radically one, whether they be manifested in rhythm, 
in color, or in sweet sounds. Andrea Amati was 
only the most illustrious member of a family of violin- 
ists at Cremona ; Mozart's father was a violinist ; 
Beethoven was the son of a tenor singer ; and Mendel- 
sohn was of a musical family. The Bachs supply 
perhaps the most distinguished instance of mental 
heredity on record. The family began in 1550 and 
lasted through eight generations, to the year 1800." x 

These illustrations are sufficient to show the 
potency of heredity in the physical, moral, and in- 
tellectual tendencies of child life. These tendencies 
may be potent factors for regeneration or degenera- 
tion of the individual life. Evil tendencies show how 
deep-seated is the taint of sin in human nature. 

i A. H. Bradford: Heredity and Christian Problems, 
pages 38 and 39. 



142 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

Thus scientific investigation shows the forcibleness 
of the truth of God's Word that the iniquity of the 
fathers is visited upon the children of the third and 
fourth generation, and loving kindness is shown to a 
thousand generations that love God and keep his 
commandments. Under the guiding hand of re- 
ligious education through the child life, the heredi- 
tary taint of evil tendencies will be gradually lessened, 
and the blessings of virtue and purity will be the 
future heritage of the children of the great human 
race. 

ENVIRONMENT 

We have shown that a child is born into the world 
endowed with certain tendencies which he has in- 
herited from his ancestors. The way those tendencies 
shall be influenced will largely depend upon his en- 
vironment. After birth it is largely environment 
that determines man's character. By environment 
we mean those influences which are brought to bear 
from without on an individual's life after birth. Dr. 
Bradford also gives this definition, " It is the sum of 
all that is extrinsic to a human being, and which in 
any way touches or influences him from the beginning 
of his career." * 

Among the influences which may be mentioned are 
climate, health, home, business, religious and secular 
education, morals, etc. It would indeed be interest- 
ing to trace each factor as a contributing agent to 
the development of an individual's character, but all 
of these phases are beyond the compass of this chap- 
ter. The phase of development which concerns us 

i Bradford: Heredity and Christian Problems, page 54. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 143 

here is, — To what extent are the hereditary ten- 
dencies of the child life modified by environment? 

Some investigators assert that heredity is a 
stronger factor in determining character than en- 
vironment. For instance, Ribot agrees with Burdach 
that " heredity has actually more power over our 
mental constitution and our character than all ex- 
ternal influences, physical or moral." * Ribot writes, 
" So variable is the influence of education that we 
may doubt whether it is ever absolute. It is needless 
to cite facts from history, which tells only of men of 
eminence or distinction — we need only appeal to 
every-day experience. It is not rare to find children 
sceptical in religious families ; debauched men amid 
good examples, or ambitious men in a family of re- 
tiring, peaceable disposition. Yet we are speaking 
only of ordinary people whose life passes away on a 
restricted stage, who die and are forgotten." 1 

Elsewhere he writes : " We must bear in mind 
these facts and be careful not to believe that educa- 
tion explains everything. We would not, however, 
in the least detract from its importance. Education, 
after centuries of effort, has made us what we are. 
Moreover, to bear sway over average minds is in it- 
self a grand part to play ; for though it is the higher 
minds that act, it is mediocre minds that react, and 
history teaches that the progress of humanity is as 
much the result of the reaction which communicates 
motion as of the actions which first determine it." 2 

We recognize the fact that the messages we have 
quoted, coming as they do from specialists, are de- 



i Ribot: Heredity, page 346. 

2 Ribot: Heredity, pages 350 and 351. 



144 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

serving of the most serious consideration. However, 
we cannot agree with their viewpoint that heredity is 
a stronger factor than environment in determining 
character. Our observations have led us to take the 
side of environment. In this view we are upheld 
by many scientists, religionists, educators, social 
workers, etc. If education and religion are power- 
less to uplift humanity, truly the future of the human 
race is very dark and gloomy. Even Ribot acknowl- 
edges that education has been a most important fac- 
tor in the developing of the race. History shows 
that true education has been a great constructive 
factor in the positive development of humanity. 

If we follow at the present time religion, educa- 
tional, and social reform movements, we see there is 
the recognition of the powerful influence of environ- 
ment to uplift and elevate the individual and com- 
munity alike. We could cite a multitude of examples 
wherein we could show that environment can and does 
modify hereditary tendencies for the betterment of 
the individual. For instance, follow the work of the 
various children's aid societies which have as their 
mission the saving of children who are the victims 
of unfavorable circumstances in homes where vice, in- 
temperance, etc., prevail, and who are afterwards 
placed in homes where conditions of purity and edu- 
cation obtain. The results obtained are far-reach- 
ing. Evil and vicious tendencies in the child life have 
been overcome, and the good qualities have been de- 
veloped and noble characters formed. 

Dr. Bradford significantly points out the impor- 
tance of environment when he says : " The impor- 
tance of reaching the forces of heredity as early as 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION U5 

possible with right training is evident. Delay means 
opportunity for evil environment to appeal to evil 
in the soul. The nearer to the moment of birth the 
influence of purity, healthfulness, and religion can be 
brought, the greater the probability that they will 
become predominant forces in determining character 
and conduct." * 



i Bradford: Heredity and Christian Problems, page 



CHAPTER VIII 

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT: EARLY 
CHILDHOOD 

Growth — Play Traits — Memory — Imagina- 
tion — Self — : Dependence — Fear — Language 
— Religious Education. 

There is general agreement among psychologists 
at the present time that the child recapitulates in his 
physical and mental development the chief periods 
of the history of the race. He also has his own pe- 
culiar and distinctive periods of growth. We can- 
not draw an arbitrary line and say that precisely at 
this point one period ends and the next epoch be- 
gins. The ages of development are only approxi- 
mate. It is our purpose to treat briefly and yet at 
sufficient length these various periods in this and 
subsequent chapters. 

A simple division of the periods of the life of man 
is as follows : 

(1) Babyhood — the first three years. 

(2) Childhood — three years to twelve years. 

(3) Adolescence — twelve years to twenty -five 
years. 

(4) Manhood — twenty-five years to the end of 

life. 

146 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 147 



GROWTH 

Early childhood is marked by rapid physical 
growth. During the first year the child grows about 
eight inches. The first six years is marked by a 
growth of about twenty-five inches. 

The child is restless, active, and takes delight in 
doing things. It is estimated that he can keep still 
about fifty seconds. He needs this motion and 
energy; it is necessary for his growth. It is a mis- 
take to repress his active and restless spirit, but it is 
to be utilized and directed in proper channels to 
foster the growth of his bodily functions. The 
proper direction of this force will reflect itself in the 
temperament and disposition of the child ; repression 
means ill-temper; development, a lovable nature. 
The kindergarten provides for motion exercises and 
songs and even play, all planned toward controlling 
and directing the restless child spirit. Each Bible 
School should follow along the same idea in planning 
the service to fit the age of the children, and not vice 
versa. 

PLAY TRAITS 

Coincidental with growth is the play trait in chil- 
dren. Play can be made to act as a means toward 
fostering growth and the direction of their boundless 
energy and activity into proper channels. Dr. 
Drummond well says : " Play, then, may be regarded 
as Nature's method of education." x 

During the period of early childhood, plays are 
largely individualistic. The earliest kind of plays 

i Drummond: Child Study, page 219. 



148 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

are largely those of movement. The impulse is to 
kick, run, jump, climb, etc. Very early the impulse 
to imitate is manifested. Their play shows how 
eagerly and closely they imitate their elders. They 
enter into their play with energy, earnestness, and 
interest. They imitate every word, art, gesture, and 
mannerism of their elders. They play engineer, doc- 
tor, preach, build houses, spade garden, play soldier, 
write letters, etc. All these activities present tremen- 
dous opportunities for later life. Foundations may 
be laid in child life which will show results later in 
character, education, usefulness, and responsibility. 

Again, the idea of the kindergarten needs to find 
a large place in our Bible School so that the chil- 
dren may be taught the right ideals toward things re- 
ligious. Religion and education must be recognized 
as one. Reverence, so essential to religious ideals, 
can be impressed on the child mind where play is 
properly directed and its lessons taught by the intro- 
duction of the kindergarten in the Bible School. On 
this point Goe says: 

" The practical problem is, in part, to extend the 
Christian spirit through all the games and plays of 
childhood and youth, and the play spirit through the 
instrumentalities of religious education, so that the 
whole life shall be lived as in the sight of God and in 
friendship with Christ. If the thought of God or of 
Christ chills the joy of games and plays, that merely 
proves that we have misinterpreted the divine to chil- 
dren. A child who cannot freely unbend in the pres- 
ence of his earthly father or an elder brother is a 
witness against such a father or such a brother. 
There is imperfectly revealed fatherhood, and imper- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 149 

fectly revealed brotherhood. The fact that we have 
so represented the heavenly Father and the great 
elder Brother of us all shows how slow of heart we 
have been, how slightly we have grasped the principle 
of incarnation. God in Christ means God in child- 
hood as well as in manhood ; God in childhood's plays, 
therefore, as truly as in the manhood's labor and 
worship." * 

MEMORY 

The memory of childhood must be viewed from two 
points: (1) physiological; (2) psychological. 

From the physiological point of view the memory 
is strong. The mind at this age is very susceptible 
to impressions, many of which become permanent. It 
is the most impressionable period of life, and these 
memories of childhood experiences are remembered 
longer than any others. 

From the psychological side the memory is weak. 
This is due to the fact that in early childhood the 
power of attention is small. However, the psycho- 
logical side of memory becomes stronger as the child 
becomes older. 

IMAGINATION 

Early childhood is marked by a very strong and 
active imagination. At first the imagination starts 
from the world of reality. The results of the imagi- 
nation of children are brought out particularly then 
in their play. Their imaginative world is real in 
every sense of the word. For example, my little girl 
is very fond of paper dolls. She calls these dolls her 

iCoe: Education in Religion and Morals, pages 145-156. 



150 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

family ; each one is a real person, having a name, and 
in the course of her play each doll does something 
or goes somewhere. Sometimes she takes her doll 
family down town to shop, they go to school, to 
church, and Bible School, on pleasure trips, etc. 

There is also frequent tendency for a child to 
elaborate some story or simple experience in his life. 
He will mingle facts and fancy in his statements. It 
will be difficult from his telling it to determine where 
fact ends and fancy begins. In this respect children 
cannot be said to be telling falsehoods. They should 
not, as is so often claimed, be punished, as is so often 
done; but children should be helped to properly de- 
velop their imagination. 

Children are naturally fond of stories, and every 
effort should be made by parent and teacher to tell 
them good, simple tales which will be the means of 
developing their imagination along constructive lines. 

SELF 

It is interesting to note along what lines a child 
learns to know himself, and the manner in which he 
develops self-consciousness. The early life of the 
child is for him a period of explanation. He gradu- 
ally learns to know his body. In this way he sepa- 
rates himself from his surroundings. For example, 
a child of a few months carefully studies his hands 
and eventually learns to use them in various ways. 
When he learns to walk and his sphere of activity 
is increased thereby, he is able to do more things ; 
the self-idea grows and develops more rapidly from 
this time on. Confidence and power are quickly de- 
veloped. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 151 

Another step in the emergence of self is in the use 
of pronouns and names. A little child will invariably 
call himself " Bubber " (brother), or by his first 
name. The pronouns " I " or " me " are not used 
until considerably later. The boy will say of a toy, 
" Bubber wants it." He means himself, and the de- 
sire for the toy gave expression to a consciousness of 
his own personality. His later use of " I " as substi- 
tution for " Bubber " likewise illustrates a distinct 
concrete idea of " self." Tracy says, " The ' I ' feel- 
ing is often present, therefore, before the word is 
used. The concept of the self is not generated, but 
only rendered more exact and definite by speech." 1 
Personal possessions are indicative of self-con- 
sciousness. Children of this age are usually very 
selfish. They are not willing to share their toys with 
another playmate. Their selfishness is peculiar to 
the period of life and is but an evidence of the de- 
velopment of self -individuality. A child manifests 
the spirit of ownership and selfishness particularly 
when he sees another child having a toy that perhaps 
he discarded, — then he wants it ; or perhaps when one 
tries to take one of his toys, he will insist on having 
it. This passion of ownership and selfishness is even 
manifested by the child before he is able to talk. 

It is characteristic for children under six years 
of age to lie, cheat, and steal in order to possess and 
acquire property. Parents and teachers try to keep 
these forces down and to overcome them. They try 
to teach them unselfishness, not to do these things, 
and to respect rights of others. However, these are 
the natural traits of the period of life. By careful 
i Tracy; Psychology or Childhood, page 73. 



152 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

guidance and teaching and not punishment, these 
forces will be overcome and spend themselves. 
" These deeds are giving the child an idea of self." 

Such are the various factors entering into the de- 
velopment of the child's self-consciousness, by which 
" he raises himself higher and higher above the de- 
pendent condition of the animal, so that at last the 
difference between animals and human beings obtain 
such infinite magnitude." 1 

DEPENDENCE 

The little child is dependent upon his parents. He 
clings very closely to them and to his kindergarten 
teacher. His trust and faith in them is boundless. 
He believes whatever they tell him. He accepts 
their statements literally. This fact is well illus- 
trated by his religious belief. Whatever the children 
hear they believe. The varied conceptions of re- 
ligious belief that they hold are most remarkable. 
The simple religious stories that they are (or should 
be) taught are invariably mingled with religious and 
theological phrases which they have heard from par- 
ental conversation. The child translates all state- 
ments that he hears into some concrete form which 
will be intelligible to him. His imagination runs riot, 
and fact and fancy are so intermingled, in conse- 
quence, that his conceptions of God are grotesque 
and weird. On this point Dr. Pratt reports the fol- 
lowing example, which is the common belief of many 
children : " God is a big blue man who pours rain 
out of big buckets, thumps clouds to make thunder, 
puts the sun and moon to bed, takes dead people, 

i Tracy: Psychology of Childhood, page 74. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 153 

birds and even broken dolls up there, distributes 
babies and is closely related to Santa Claus." x 

John Fiske's conception is also very interesting as 
he writes, " I remember distinctly the conception 
which I had formed when five years of age. I ima- 
gined a narrow office just over the zenith, with a tall 
standing-desk running lengthwise, upon which lay 
several open ledgers bound in coarse leather. There 
was no roof over this office, and the walls rose scarcely 
five feet from the floor, so that a person standing at 
the desk could look out upon the whole world. There 
were two persons at the desk, and one of them, a tall, 
slender man, of aquiline features, wearing spectacles, 
with a pen in his hand, another behind his ear, was 
God. The other, whose appearance I do not dis- 
tinctly recall, was an attendant angel. Both were 
diligently watching the deeds of men, and recording 
them in the ledgers." 2 

It is well-nigh impossible to dispell these grotesque 
anthropomorphic conceptions from the child mind, 
but by careful guidance and teaching the child will 
outgrow them. 

FEAR 

Another trait peculiar to childhood is fear. The 
manifestation of fear seems to be instinctive, since 
childhood has had no experience of the dangers from 
which fears arise. The instinct, inherited undoubt- 
edly, points back to the primitive condition of the 
race ages ago. 

Unusual noises, such as thunder, booming of can- 

i Pratt: Psychology of Religious Belief, page 201. 
2 John Fiske: The Idea of God, page 116. 



154 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

non, explosions, have caused fear. Children have 
been known to slap their hands in delight at bright 
dazzling flashes of lightning, but to become well-nigh 
hysterical at the loud rumbling noise of thunder. 

The bigness of some object is also another cause. 
For example, a little girl once awoke from her sleep 
and cried out, " Mamma, Big Woo got me ! " She 
said it was in her bed, and for several nights it was 
impossible to get her to sleep there. The mother 
gradually learned from the child that her " Woo " 
possessed big eyes, big teeth, big wings. She was 
very fond of looking at pictures of animals, and evi- 
dently she had dreamed of some animal of such a fan- 
tastic form. It was only possible to overcome this 
fear by telling the child that papa drove the " Woo " 
away, and he would not let it hurt his little girl. 

Childhood will outgrow this instinct of fear, in 
part. However, it is essential to eliminate it from 
childhood as soon as possible. A child is naturally 
affectionate and sympathetic, and by developing these 
qualities, fear can be largely overcome. In the 
stories told the child, and in whatever is taught him, 
fear should be absent. 

LANGUAGE 

When a child begins to speak, there is a marked 
period of development of mind power. Continued 
use of language marks a larger development of mind. 
The child begins to use language as a result of sensa- 
tion, perception, memory, and other mental expe- 
riences. Speech also comes from imitating those 
about him, as when he tries to say words that others 
have said. A child's vocabulary will largely depend 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 155 

upon his environment and educative fondness. A 
child in a home where there is culture and a vital in- 
terest in teaching him will learn much more rapidly 
than a child which is left to shift for himself. 

Dr. Tracy has made a careful comparative study 
of the vocabularies of children from which we take 
the following : " A child of nine months is reported 
as speaking nine words plainly." " A child of twelve 
months uses ten words with meaning. Six of these 
are nouns, two adjectives, and two verbs." " A girl 
of seventeen months is reported as using thirty-five 
words, twenty-two of which are nouns, four verbs, 
two adjectives, four adverbs, and three interjec- 
tions." " A girl at two years employs thirty-six 
words, distributed as follows: nouns, sixteen; adjec- 
tives, four; pronouns, three; verbs, seven; adverbs, 
three; interjections, three." 1 

Other investigations have shown that a child's vo- 
cabulary at thirty-two months numbered 64S words ; 
five and one-half years, 1,500 words; seven years of 
age, about 2,500 words. As time goes on a child's 
vocabulary rapidly increases, due to his reading and 
contact with the outside world. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

To provide religious education for this period of 
early childhood is a most difficult problem. As noted, 
it is a period in which the instincts and impulses pre- 
dominate. It is a time when the child has little or no 
power of discrimination. 

At about the third year the moral sense has 
awakened, though in a very incomplete degree. By 

i Tracy, Psychology of Childhood, page 144. 



156 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the sixth year the child has a fair knowledge of right 
and wrong as developed through his limited expe- 
rience. 

In seeking to control and develop the tendencies 
and impulses of children into right channels, parents 
will sometimes meet with obstinacy. Sometimes the 
serious mistake is made of seeking to break this will 
power. A child in such a condition requires careful 
teaching to bring about proper functioning of his 
will. His will is not strong, but weak. The tendency 
of the will is to functionate along actional and at- 
tentive lines. Such a child must be taught the proper 
development of action, and to attend well. These 
are the resultants of a properly developed normal 
child will. 

Religious education during the first period of child 
life must be based on simple truths and come largely 
through the senses. Lessons of nature can be im- 
pressed on his mind, it seems, better than any other. 
In a short time he will respond to nature lessons, and 
an instinct hitherto hidden in his life will be an- 
swered. The journeys to the mountain, woods, 
fields, or seashore will never be forgotten by a six year 
old child, and lessons of the time with respect to 
God's creative power, etc., will be impressed on his 
mind. 

The nature instinct in him will respond in large 
measure to the truths unfolded to him with respect 
to nature's God. Dr. G. Stanley Hall has well said : 
" The first need of childhood to-day is ample, long, 
all-sided exposure to all the nature influences. That 
is the basis of religion. It is the basis without 
which religion will never be complete, or what it might 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 157 

otherwise have been. In the Bible School nature 
lessons illustrating the Father's care, and Bible les- 
sons uttering forth truths of human life, should be 
taught simply and briefly." 



CHAPTER IX 

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT: LATER 
CHILDHOOD — SIX TO TWELVE YEARS 

Growth — Mental Developments: Memory; Imag- 
ination, humor, curiosity — The Collecting Instinct 
— Religious Education. 

GROWTH 

The period of childhood is marked by rapid growth 
of bodily organs and mental functions. The child 
spirit is less restless, and the power of attention is 
better developed in consequence. However, he shows 
tireless activity. He lives a life of intense action. 
This spirit is manifested in his games and play. 
The imitative instinct of the first period is continued 
into the next period, but it is manifested in a more 
complex manner. The prominent feature of his imi- 
tative nature is shown in his games. Says Dr. 
Drummond : " Many of these games are of great 
antiquity. They are learned by imitation, genera- 
tion after generation, and owe their durability to the 
satisfaction they give to certain primitive instincts, 
especially the fighting and hunting instincts which 
are so strong in boyhood." * 

Emulation seems to be an innate instinct in boy- 
hood which is brought out prominently in his life by 

i Drummond: Child Study, page 221. 
158 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 159 

his plays. He enters into them with intensity of 
earnestness, with grim determination to do his best 
in order that his individual superiority may be mani- 
fested. The games and spirit of emulation develop 
in boyhood efficiency, skill, and accuracy in the per- 
formance of his individual part. Parents and teach- 
ers should strive to keep alive in each boy's life this 
spirit of emulation as it will mean much to him in 
achieving success in later life. 

With his growth, the formation of habits go hand 
in hand. The spirit of emulation as an impulse is 
a most important factor in his life, and if properly 
controlled and directed will help in large measure in 
paving the way for the formation of high moral and 
Christian habits. 

The growth of this period is also marked by daring 
and courage. A boy of ten or twelve years is ready 
to fulfill any dare. He is always ready to do the im- 
possible. His fearlessness goes to the extreme in 
that he has no sense of danger. For example, we 
know of an eleven year old boy who was dared by his 
companions to climb to the top of a very high, slen- 
der flag pole on a very windy day. To have climbed 
up to the roof of the pavilion was dangerous in it- 
self, but to endeavor to reach the top of the flag pole 
was foolhardy as well as dangerous. However, the 
boy took up the dare, and when he was half way to 
the top of the pole it cracked. His companions called 
to him to come down, but he kept on until he reached 
the top. When he reached the roof the pole fell. 
When he got down to the ground, his companions 
cheered him. All he said was, " I never take a dare." 
This illustration shows the physical characteristics 



160 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

of this period, marked by activity, daring, courage, 
and recklessness. 

MENTAL DEVELOPMENT 
MEMORY 

During this period the memory is active and shows 
remarkable development. About the age of nine the 
power of the memory to remember the concrete is at 
its best. From about the age of eleven or twelve 
onwards, the memory has reached the period of de- 
velopment when abstract terms are memorized with 
comparative ease, and retained. 

Concerning the different types of memory Dr. 
Haslett writes : " Different types of memory are 
found to exist. The visual type remembers things in 
terms of visual images, while the tactual features 
largely disappear. The auditory type sees things 
in terms of hearing, while the visual and tactual may 
fade away. The tactual type remembers in terms of 
touch. The mixed type of memory is probably the 
most common of all, and the most valuable. Usually 
one of the three types prevails in each mind, and the 
aim in teaching is so to present the material as to 
appeal to the dominant type." 1 

IMAGINATION 

As in the earlier period, so in this age, the imagi- 
nation is very active. However, it does not develop 
the extreme fantastic pictures of the former period. 
It is more under the control of the mind. Its prod- 
ucts cover a wide range of forms. " In their origin 
they may be almost exclusively emotional or as ex- 

i Haslett: The Pedagogical Bible School, page 124. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 161 

clusively intellectual. They range all the way from 
the laying of a few sticks together in a certain way 
to the carving of the Apollo Belvedere ; from the po- 
tato-masher to the linotype ; from ' Ba, ba, black 
sheep,' to the Book of Job ; from the mud hut to the 
towering cathedral; from the crude sketches of the 
simple-minded peasant to the noble frescoes of the 
Vatican. Out of imagination rises the beautiful 
world of art, inspiring and refining the race. It 
touches every side of life and makes progress pos- 
sible." 1 

HUMOR 

At no other period in life is there such a crude 
sense of humor as in this. Children in the earlier 
stage are easily amused, but there must be some- 
thing exceedingly incongruous and ludicrous to ap- 
peal to their sense of humor. Their conception of 
humor is largely the resultant of their fantastic 
imaginings. Many of the incongruities which amuse 
them in the imagination, in this period are sought 
after in reality. The child takes keen delight in 
pulling the cat's tail, tying a tin can to a dog's tail, 
and in the performance of various other crude and 
raw tricks. 

Much of this coarse enjoyment will gradually pass 
away in time, but it will require careful and pains- 
taking efforts on the part of parents and teachers 
alike to overcome and curb these tendencies. The 
point is to awaken in the children's minds affection 
for animals so that they will not become the victims 
of their tricks. This can be done, because child life 

i Taylor: Study or the Child, page 132. 



162 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

at this period is affectionate and readily responds. 
The humor spirit is to be cultivated, but every effort 
is to be sought to lift it from crude tendencies to 
higher planes of amusement. 

CURIOSITY 

Childhood is naturally curious. Curiosity is at 
the basis of knowledge. It is the germ of educa- 
tional development. The baby studies his body and 
learns the use of the different organs. The child at 
six years, with larger experience, is after more knowl- 
edge. He is busy accumulating facts. 

From the age of six to eight or nine years may be 
termed the question age. The child is continually 
asking, "Why?" "How?" "Where?" "When?" 
etc. One is at a loss at times to answer his questions. 

It is essential that the truth always be given him, 
because eventually by his own experience and through 
the enlargement of his mental horizon, he will test 
one's answers, and if he finds that one has deceived 
him, one's influence over him will be lessened or en- 
tirely lost. 

From six to eight years curiosity manifests itself 
along destructive ways. Toys and things are not 
torn apart for the mere sake of destruction, but in 
order to learn the various parts. For example, a 
boy of seven was given a watch on his birthday. 
For weeks he studied it, and very frequently he asked 
the question, " Where is the tick ? " All answers as 
to the construction and mechanism failed to satisfy 
him. One day he was found taking his watch very 
carefully apart. In response to the question, " Why 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 163 

did you do it? " he answered, " I wanted to find the 
tick." 

From about nine to twelve years may be termed 
the period of constructive curiosity. The child now 
puts into application the results learned in the former 
years. That is, he seeks to put together and build 
up. He builds houses, constructs sail-boats, etc. 

THE COLLECTING INSTINCT 

This instinct manifests itself as early as the third 
year. Up to the eighth year the impulse is mani- 
fested without any particular direction or interest. 
There is the tendency to possess certain things, then 
to specialize and develop a particular interest in 
specific collections. 

Things which are collected at this stage are easily 
obtained. They consist of such articles as boxes, 
toys, dolls, nails, burnt matches, hair pins, etc., etc. 

The specialization period is between the ages of 
eight and twelve years. Particular interest is shown 
in the collections which are numerous in kind and 
quantity even in this period. Interest is shown in 
nature collections consisting of such things as stones, 
bugs, butterflies, birds' eggs, flowers, etc. Tobacco 
tags and stamps are also collected. Keen rivalry 
exists between individuals and between groups of boys 
to get the rarest and largest collections. Frequent 
combinations are made whereby a group will carry 
on extensive trading operation places in order to 
get large quantities of stamps, tags, etc., and rare 
ones. Each boy takes much pride in possessing rare 
specimens. 



164 



THE ESSENTIALS OF 



The following illuminating and interesting table 
which we quote from Dr. Hall's work shows : * 

AVERAGE NUMBER OF ACTIVE COLLECTIONS FOR 
DIFFERENT AGES 



AGE IN 


AVERAGE 


AVERAGE 


AVERAGE 


YEARS 


PER BOY 


PER GIRL 


PER CHILD 


6 


1.2 


1.9 


1.4 


7 


2.1 


2.6 


2.3 


8 


3.5 


4.5 


4. 


9 


3.9 


4,1 


4. 


10 


4,4 


4.4 


4.4 


11 


3.4 


3.3 


3.3 


12 


3. 


3. 


3. 


13 


3.5> 


3.4 


3.4 


14 


3. 


3. - 


3. 


15 


2.7 


3.3 


2.8 



This collecting impulse should be utilized by the 
Bible School teacher in getting the pupils to make 
collections of Bible verses, pictures, and objects. 
Foundations may be laid for intensive Bible study in 
later life. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

For this stage of childhood quite different plans 
for providing religious education must be followed. 
We see a larger development of will power and the 
rise of conscience. It is at this time that the will 
must be strengthened and developed in order that the 
education may be uniform. Upon the will are de- 
pendent proper and consistent decisions. The will 
is naturally active in child life, and particularly so 

i Hall: Aspects, Child Life and Education, page 208. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 165 

in this period. This is the time when by proper de- 
velopment in his play, games, public school and Bible 
School work the child may have his will trained and 
strengthened. Here the foundations for obedience, 
the recognition of duly constituted authority and 
personal responsibility are laid where in the future 
he shall take his place and perform his duties in 
church, home, and state. 

With the development of his will the growth of his 
moral concepts likewise follows. He learns to dis- 
criminate more readily between right and wrong. 
He requires a practical exemplification of the Golden 
Rule. Gradually his conscience develops, and by the 
age of ten it appears very strong. Through the 
education of his moral nature, his conscience grows 
and he comes to see things in a different light as com- 
pared with his earlier childhood. Impulse and in- 
stinct are no longer the dominating factors of his 
life. Reason, will, and conscience are now the fac- 
tors of his life. 

We have noted how curious he is about everything. 
His mind is growing, and it is by questioning that 
he increases his store of facts and knowledge. He 
still holds to many of the peculiar anthropomorphic 
conceptions of God, but gradually, by careful in- 
struction, these views may be overcome. He will 
discard many of them himself as his experience be- 
comes larger. We must remember that the develop- 
ment of a child's religious nature requires patience 
as well as intelligence. Between the ages of six and 
nine years the impressing and developing of religious 
educational principles will be largely dependent upon 
his senses. Teaching should be done principally 



166 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

through pictures and stories. Through parental 
love he can be taught to love Christ. His intellect 
has reached the stage where he can understand God's 
presence. He can learn to pray in the sense of ex- 
pressing his own prayers. The mistake is often 
made by Bible School teachers of seeking to impress 
upon the child's mind religious principles and truths 
which he cannot understand nor grasp. The plan to 
be followed is to teach them truths exemplifying the 
objective and practical side of religion. 

From nine to twelve years the child develops a re- 
markable fondness for reading. He literally devours 
volumes on heroes, myths, fables, and biography. 
The remarkableness of a retentive memory is revealed 
in what he can tell of what he has read. 

From the viewpoint of religious education, the 
capabilities of the child must be borne in mind. He 
should be directed to read Bible history and biogra- 
phy. He could be interested in social and religious 
customs. Since he is fond of the heroic, the stories 
of pioneer and self-sacrificing missionaries would 
meet this desire. 

We have already noted the wonderful retentive 
power of the memory during the stage of childhood. 
This splendid opportunity should be utilized by Bible 
School teachers and pastors alike in having children 
commit to memory choice portions of Scriptures and 
the Catechism. There should be no explanation, but 
it should be done as a memoriter duty, this especially 
in order to prepare for the golden opportunity of 
teaching Bible truths in the adolescent period. 



CHAPTER X 

PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT: 
THE ADOLESCENT 

Growth — Imagination — Individuality — Friend- 
ship — Faults — Conscience — Play — Anger — 
Sympathy — Life Plans — Religious Life — Reli- 
gious Education. 

This period extends from about the twelfth to 
twenty-fifth year. Some writers divide it as follows : 
from 12 to 16, early or initial stage; 16 to 18 or 19, 
the middle period; and later adolescence from 19 to 
25. However, in our study we propose to treat the 
period as a whole. There is so much overlapping 
that it is difficult to say when one period ends and 
the next begins, but where the various changes of de- 
velopment and growth are pronounced, we will men- 
tion the details which are essential. We believe this 
plan will prevent confusion and misunderstanding, 
and the various plans set forth in these studies will 
be general, and at the same time it is endeavored to 
explain the essentials in sufficient detail. 

The adolescent stage is a preparation for man- 
hood. The changes which take place in the indi- 
vidual are essential as foundations for the develop- 
ment of that larger, broader, and higher life which 
is to show itself in a " stable and symmetrical man- 
hood and womanhood." It is the plastic stage of 

167 



168 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

life and the impressions made upon it will determine 
the life of the future. Dr. James illustrates this 
point as follows : " If a boy grows up alone at the 
age of games and sports, and learns neither to play 
ball, nor row, nor sail, nor ride, nor skate, nor fish, 
nor shoot, probably he will be sedentary to the end 
of his days; and, though the best opportunities be 
afforded him for learning these things later, it is a 
hundred to one that he will pass them by and shrink 
from the effort of taking these necessary steps the 
prospect of which, at an earlier age, would have filled 
him with eager delight. 

" In all pedagogy the great thing is to strike the 
iron while hot, and to seize the wave of the pupil's 
interest in each successive subject before its ebb has 
come, so that knowledge may be got and a habit of 
skill acquired — a headway of interest, in short, se- 
cured, on which afterward the individual may float. 
. . . Outside of their own business, the ideas gained 
by men before they are twenty-five are practically 
the only ideas they shall have in their lives. They 
cannot get anything new. Disinterested curiosity is 
past, the mental grooves and channels set, the power 
of assimilation gone." 1 

GROWTH 

The adolescent period is marked by growth in 
height and weight. From the ages of twelve or thir- 
teen years to about sixteen years, girls are superior 
in weight and height to boys. The fourteenth year 
in girls is the most vigorous in growth, in height and 
weight; this continues until the seventeenth year, 

i James: Psychology, Vol. II, pages 401 and 402. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 169 

when the acme of their physical development is about 
reached. Boys also develop rapidly in growth, in 
height, and weight from twelve to about sixteen, and 
after sixteen they exceed girls in height and weight. 
It is characteristic of both sexes for growth in height 
to precede that in weight. In girls between the ages 
of seventeen years and twenty-one or twenty-two, 
growth is very slow, and it is about this latter period 
that it ceases. In boys from seventeen years to 
about twenty-five there is growth in height at varying 
periods, at times rapid, and then very slow, ceasing 
at about twenty-five. With respect to weight for 
both sexes during these periods, it varies and fluctu- 
ates. 

We should note briefly here the growth and de- 
velopment of bodily parts. There is a marked 
growth of the bones ; this is noted particularly in the 
larger bones. The arms also develop. Moon says : 
" In length from shoulder to elbow, the rate of growth 
appears to increase after the age of twelve, while in 
length from elbow to tip there is little variation till 
the age of fourteen when the growth is relatively 
quickened." There are changes in the development 
of the head. For example, from fourteen to sixteen 
years it is found that in boys there is a marked in- 
crease in the length of the head; a similar increase 
takes place in girls between the ages of twelve and 
seventeen years. It is during the pubescent period 
in both sexes that the muscles increase in length and 
thickness. The heart shows marked growth and de- 
velopment which continues with considerable rapidity 
until twenty-five years and after that less rapidly. 
Coincidental with the growth of the heart there is an 



170 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

augmented development of lungs and chest. This 
period also shows the rapid growth of the brain. 
During the period between the ages of eight and 
twelve years the brain grows very slowly. Between 
the years of twelve and fourteen its growth is more 
rapid ; it has then reached almost its greatest weight. 
Some specialists state that there is a slight growth 
between twenty and thirty. 

The varied changes which we have sketched so 
briefly in their development and growth mark, so to 
speak, a new life in the physical nature of the indi- 
vidual. , 
IMAGINATION 

The adolescent time of life is the heyday of day- 
dreams, visions, and air castles. The youth becomes 
oblivious of his surroundings, and his fancy carries 
his mind away to distant worlds. In his dreams all 
his wishes are fulfilled and his ambitions are realized. 
The normal youth may indulge frequently in these 
visions, but his soul soon comes back to the world of 
reality, and the illusions soon pass away. 

When the tendency becomes morbid, and illusion 
cannot be discriminated from reality, then the danger 
line is reached. It is then that the responsibility 
ceases, and the youth moves about the world as an- 
other personality, and he is not accountable for his 
deeds and acts. Habitual morbid dreams will even- 
tually lead to insanity. From this morbid condition 
he must be guided and turned. 

INDIVIDUALITY 

This is the period of self-assertiveness. The youth 
entertains an unusually high opinion of himself, his 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 171 

ability, ambitions, and achievements. Whatever he 
does he magnifies, and his descriptions are highly col- 
ored with self. There is no vocation, profession, or 
line of activity but that, so great is self-conscience, 
he believes he can make a success of it. He is im- 
pulsive and impatient, and whatever he does or wants 
must be realized immediately. However, as he be- 
comes more mature in years, with experience en- 
larged and knowledge increased, much of this self- 
assertiveness is sloughed off and disappears. Many 
of his ambitions have failed of realization, and his 
powers have been tested sufficiently for him to realize 
that he is not able to do all things he had hoped. 
However, his self-confidence, ambitions, and ability, 
properly guided and directed during this period, 
should result in developing a personality which is 
capable of achievement and success. 

FRIENDSHIP 

Friendships are rapidly formed at this age and al- 
most as quickly broken. In the early adolescent 
period the tendency, among boys particularly, is to 
travel in a large group. From fifteen or sixteen 
years onward this tendency gradually passes away, 
and the youth has a particular friend or chum with 
whom he associates. This group spirit is also com- 
mon among girls in the earlier adolescent age, but 
does not last so long as among boys. The tendency 
is to break up into smaller groups and eventually 
into group friendships of two. 

Another peculiar tendency is the extreme love and 
devotion a youth may show to a girl; on the other 
hand there may be shown an extreme hatred and aver- 



172 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

sion for the opposite sex. This love for a girl may 
ripen out of friendship, but the psychology of such 
love is based on a deeply imbedded instinct in man 
which love directs toward the opposite sex. Take, 
for example, a schoolboy about seventeen years of 
age, who becomes deeply enamoured of a girl of the 
same age and school. The infatuation and devotion 
each for the other may be very marked. They are 
so deeply interested in each other that they do not 
have time for any one else. They go to school to- 
gether in the morning, they are with each other at 
noon, after school, and whenever possible. It seems 
as though there is not time enough for them to talk, 
and to tell each other of their devotion. However, 
in a few months their affection has passed away, and 
perhaps afterwards they disregard and will not speak 
to each other. We have also known cases where this 
affection continued and ended in marriage and the 
establishment of happy homes. This sentimentalism 
is characteristic of the adolescent age and need not 
cause serious worriment, for it is generally fleeting 
and not permanent. 

FAULTS 

Dr. Hall makes the following noteworthy state- 
ment : " In all civilized lands, criminal statistics 
show two sad and significant facts : first, that there is 
a marked increase of crime at the age of twelve to 
fourteen, not in crimes of one, but of all kinds, and 
that this increase continues for a number of years. 
While the percentage of certain grave crimes increase 
to mature manhood, adolescence is preeminently the 
criminal age when most first commitments occur and 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 173 

most vicious careers are begun. The second fact is 
that the proportion of juvenile delinquents seems to 
be everywhere increasing, and crime is more and more 
precocious. Although vice is very different from 
crime, and although but a relatively small proportion 
of all offenders are caught and sentenced, the number 
of convictions affords one of the best indexes of the 
general state of morality at any age." 1 

Investigations by specialists in Europe and Amer- 
ica show that thievery, truancy, begging, incorrigi- 
bility, and sexual abuse are the most common crimes 
and faults associated with both sexes, particularly 
between the ages of thirteen and sixteen years. The 
most common fault of all is sexual abuse. It is more 
than a fault; it has come to be a vice. It is a fes- 
tering sore which threatens to degenerate our race, 
and it is a crying shame that it exists as a blight upon 
our Christian civilization. Out of it have grown, 
from its very nature, deception, secretiveness, incor- 
rigibility, disobedience, and many other grievous 
faults and sins. When the foundations for crime are 
laid in this vital, impressionable, transitional period 
of life, it is readily seen how easy it is for men and 
women to become hardened criminals. 

How to rid society of the blighting, festering sore 
is a serious and difficult problem. In order to deal 
with juvenile offenders who have come into the 
clutches of the law, special courts have been estab- 
lished. We realize that they are meeting a long felt 
need and are accomplishing praiseworthy results, but 
the work they do, from its very nature, is limited. 

There are many earnest minded religious and social 
i Hall: The Psychology of Adolescence, page 325. 



174 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

workers who urge special instruction and lectures on 
sexology and sex hygiene to be given in our schools 
to the separate sexes. Where these plans have been 
put in vogue much good and educational benefit has 
resulted. 

The key to the solution of the problem is the edu- 
cational one. The psychology of the solution must 
start from the home. Educators, physicians, and re- 
ligious teachers should unite in waging a campaign 
of education whereby parents should properly in- 
struct their children in sex problems. The responsi- 
bility for the obliteration of this festering sore of 
society rests upon parenthood. False modesty, pru- 
dery, and indifference keep children of this period 
from knowing the proper use of the sexual functions. 
The information they usually get is from outside 
sources, made up of distorted facts and false con- 
clusions, and hence the evil which is in our midst. 

The adolescent period is a time when the youth 
longs for affection and love, but he is generally held 
at arm's length, and his affectionate nature starved. 
It is, then, no wonder that these sexual disorders 
are more common to youth. The first ten years of 
a boy's life are marked by tender care and affection 
in his home life; after that they are withheld from 
him. During this critical period of his life he needs 
all the love his young nature craves in order to guide 
him safely through the temptations and dangers 
which are peculiar to this era. 

Every father is responsible for the proper training 
of his child. He owes it to society to instruct his 
children in the proper usage of the sexual functions 
with which the Creator has endowed him. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 175 

Pastors and Bible School teachers can supplement 
parental training most effectively. Every pastor 
should meet all the youths connected with his church 
as often as possible, or at least once or twice a year, 
and speak to them. As already noted, the youth at 
the time can be readily reached by religious truths. 
There is a religious and purity side to these social 
questions which need strong emphasis and which can 
be impressed upon the youth. Again quoting from 
Dr. Hall, " The superiority of Christianity is that 
its corner-stone is love, and that it meets the needs of 
this most critical period of life as nothing else does. 
It is a synonym of maturity in altruism, and a reli- 
gion that neglects this corner-stone, that is not help- 
ful in this crisis, that is not entered upon now inevi- 
tably, is wanting. He is a poor psychologist of re- 
ligion and a worse Christian teacher who, whether 
from ignorance or prudery, ignores or denies all this, 
or leaves the young to get on as best they may. Sex 
is a great psychic power which should be utilized for 
religion, which would be an inconceivably different 
thing without it, and one of the chief functions of the 
latter in the world is to normalize the former." * 

Here is also a splendid opportunity for Bible 
School teachers. After twelve years of age, boys 
should have male teachers, who are more able to fit 
into the adolescent period than women. This is the 
golden opportunity for men to unfold the possibilities 
of Christian manhood and to emphasize those ideals 
of personal purity, integrity, and responsibility 
which every youth needs. 

i Hall: The Psychology of Adolescence, page 464. 



176 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

CONSCIENCE 

This may be made the golden age of conscience. 
We have noted the gradual development of conscience 
in the earlier years of childhood. The adolescent 
period is the impressionable time of life. The whole 
personality may be moulded, by suggestion, environ- 
ment, and teaching, to a high ideal or the reverse. 
The conscience, in other words, may be marred or 
developed. The adolescent period of life is marked 
by guidance and direction, — at times by the mind 
and at others by the heart. The conscience needs 
to be trained and developed to act as a firm governor 
over heart and mind. It must be the seat of author- 
ity, the guide to action, the source of judgment, and 
a helper to discriminate between right and wrong. 
It means, therefore, the utilization of every moral, 
religious, and educational influence in order to bring 
the adolescent conscience to the high point of effi- 
ciency of which it is capable. 

PLAY 

The play spirit of childhood days continues into 
this epoch, but with a modification of intensity and 
specialization. Boys and girls of this age have a 
superabundance of physical life and energy. They 
are fond of sports and games. In their engagement 
they need little encouragement, because their interest 
is spontaneous. However, they need directing and 
guidance so that their play will conform to the laws 
of nature and prove helpful in strengthening their 
muscles and developing those powers of accuracy, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 177 

judgment, and perception which play such vital parts 
in later life. 

The adolescent youth in his games displays re- 
markable powers of physical endurance and strength. 
He delights in these games in which strength, skill, 
prowess, and ability excel. Girls, too, should be en- 
couraged to enter into games which help develop 
their powers of body and mind systematically and 
symmetrically. 

This interest and participation in games should be 
continued by both sexes all through life. It would 
be well for every man if he would preserve some 
hobby, such as tennis, from the plays of his adolescent 
life, and keep on with the game. It would prove a 
help to him in every way. 

ANGER 

One of the instincts which is pronounced in child- 
hood and in adolescence is anger. It is one of those 
traits which have been inherited from early primitive 
man and which appear anew in each individual of 
the race. It manifests itself particularly in the fight- 
ing proclivities of boys between the ages of ten and 
thirteen years. It is also common to girls during 
this period. As experience widens in life, anger 
arises from different causes. Temper and anger 
which arise in later adolescence and earlier manhood 
and womanhood come from such causes as jealousy, 
misunderstanding, sarcasm, selfishness, etc. 

However, there is a place for righteous indigna- 
tion, and outbursts of temper and passion must be 
directed and controlled in the right manner. The 



17a THE ESSENTIALS OF 

prevalence of wickedness, sin, corruption, and vice 
in the world are sufficient to arouse righteous indig- 
nation. We applaud the efforts of reformer, teacher, 
and worker in striving to overcome them. 

SYMPATHY 

This sentiment becomes very real during this age. 
Even at its best, youth has only a limited experience 
with life, yet it manifests this trait to a marked de- 
gree. The tenderness of a youth about fourteen to 
sixteen or seventeen years shows itself in various 
ways. This instinct should be broadened and de- 
veloped so that it will touch the varied forms of life 
and be manifested in higher ideals of benevolence, 
love, unselfishness, kindness, and altruism. 

It is a time, perhaps, when a mother may have to 
work hard for her son, and he wishes to get to work 
to help his mother ; or perhaps he sees the need of a 
library in his home town and he wishes to be a mil- 
lionaire to build a library building, endow it for his 
friends, etc. 

LIFE PLANS 

This is the time when ambitions obtain strongly, 
and plans are formed as to the vocation to be pur- 
sued in later life. Out of the large number of inves- 
tigations, " What children wanted to be," conducted 
by Dr. Thurber in New York City, a summary of 
what he found is the following : " Preference for a 
teacher's life exceeded in girls up to nine, fell rapidly 
at eleven, increased slightly the next year, and de- 
clined thereafter. The ideal of becoming a dress- 
maker and milliner increased till ten, fell at eleven, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 179 

rose rapidly to a maximum at thirteen when it eclipsed 
teaching , and then fell permanently again. The pro- 
fessions of clerk and stenographer showed a marked 
rise from eleven and a half. The number of boys 
who chose the father's occupation attained its maxi- 
mum at nine and its minimum at tewlve, with a slight 
rise to fourteen when the survey ended. The ideal of 
tradesman culminated at eight, with a second rise at 
thirteen. ... At twelve we find the altruistic desire 
for the welfare of parents the reason for wishing ' to 
earn money ' ; at thirteen the desire on the part of 
the girls is to be dressmakers, also to be clerks and 
stenographers. At fourteen culminates the desire 
for a business career in bank or office among the 
boys, the consciousness of life's uncertainties which 
appeared first at twelve, the desire for character, and 
the hope of doing the world good." 1 

At the age of seventeen or eighteen years the youth 
begins to manifest a spirit of independence. He 
shows it in his thinking, religious ideals, dress, and 
life plans. He has reached that point when he thinks 
his elders are " old fogies " and conservatives, and 
he is not going to be bound by narrow restrictions. 
This period of adolescent life is also another danger 
point in the youth's life, and to be guided safely 
through it usually means the development of a noble, 
manly life. 

From the ages of seventeen years to twenty-one in 
youths, and from about sixteen to nineteen or twenty 
in girls, are the periods when earlier ideals undergo 
changes in ethical and social qualities, due to ex- 
perience and education. 

i Hall: Adolescence, Vol. II, page 388. 



180 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

The ideals of the youth should be encouraged in 
order that they may be directed in the proper chan- 
nels. He will treat with earnestness his plans for 
life, and though he may change them many times, 
nevertheless these plans should not be passed over 
lightly by parents and teachers, but he should be 
helped toward making a permanent choice. 

RELIGIOUS LIFE 

The adolescent period is the golden age of reli- 
gious decisions. In considering the religious side of 
this era we are met by two kinds of experiences. The 
first which is revealed is the life of the individual who 
has from birth lived in a religious environment and 
been nurtured in religious truth. In other words, 
he cannot recall in his experience when he has not 
known something of religious ideals. The second is 
brought out by the experience of the individual who 
comes to a religious decision during this epoch. 

However, the common factor of the experiences of 
the two types mentioned is the will. In the first, 
coincidental with the development of the religious life 
was the development of the will; in the second, the 
point in life was reached when the need of religious 
ideals was recognized and the will became therefore 
the determining factor in the decision. 

Dr. Starbuck, who has made careful studies of 
conversion as set forth in his book, " The Psychology 
of Religion," shows that conversion is a distinctively 
adolescent phenomenon. It belongs almost exclu- 
sively to the years between ten and twenty-five. In 
the rough, we may say they begin to occur at seven 
or eight years and increase in number gradually to 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 181 

ten or eleven, and then rapidly to sixteen; rapidly 
decline to twenty and gradually fall away after that 
and become rare after thirtj^. One may say that 
if conversion has not occurred before twenty, the 
chances are small that it will ever be experienced. 
The event comes earlier in general among the females 
than among the males, most frequently at thirteen and 
sixteen. Among the males it occurs most often at 
seventeen and immediately before and after that 
year. 

Far more conversions take place among males prior 
to seventeen than at any other period ; among females 
prior to fourteen or fifteen. It is in early adoles- 
cence that there is a more or less definite clearing 
of the religious atmosphere. In earlier childhood 
the ideas of God, etc., have been external, but now 
they take root and become a part of his nature. 

Some of the experiences preceding conversion may 
be enumerated in a general way as follows : convic- 
tion for sin proper; struggle after the new life; 
prayers, calling on God ; sense of estrangement from 
God ; doubts and questionings ; tendency to resist 
conviction ; depression and sadness ; restlessness, anx- 
iety, and uncertainty; helplessness and humility; 
earnestness and seriousness, etc. These experiences 
prior to conversion, of course, are the resultant of 
the temperament associated with the individual. 

Dr. Starbuck well says : " The result of an analy- 
sis of these different shades of experience coincides 
with the common designation of this pre-conversive 
state in making the central fact in it all the sense of 
sin, while the other conditions are various manifesta- 
tions of this as determined, first, by differences in 



182 



THE ESSENTIALS OF 



temperament, and second, by whether the ideal life 
or the sinful life is vivid in consciousness." 
The following table x is illustrative : 



Ideal life 
dominant in 


Passive 
Temperament 

Estrange- 
ment from 


Intermediate 

Doubts and 
question- 


Active 
Temperament 

Desire for a 
better life 


conscious- 


God 


ings 




ness: 
Intermedi- 


Helpless- 


Restlessness, 


Earnestness, 


ate: 

Sinful life 
dominant in 


ness, 
humility 
Depres- 
sion, 


anxiety, un- 
certainty 

Sense of sin 


seriousness, 
prayer 
Tendency to 
resist con- 


conscious- 
ness: 


sadness, 
meditation 




version 



The motives leading to conversion are various. 
Each individual is led to it by some specific step 
which undoubtedly has something in common with 
the experiences of others who have been converted. 
The following table is not exhaustive, but Dr. Star- 
buck has brought together interesting and illustrative 
material in a unique way. 2 

In studying the table it will be found that fear of 
death and hell, conviction of sin, imitation, and so- 
cial pressure are the most frequent. This table also 
shows the small part rational considerations play in 
conversion as compared with instinctive consider- 
ations. 

iStarbuck: Psychology of Religion, pages 58 and 59; 
table 8, representing the different ways in which the sense 
of sin shows itself, as determined by temperament, and by 
whether the ideal life or the sinful life is dominant in con- 
sciousness. 

2 Starbucks Psychology of Religion, page 52, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 183 

MOTIVES AND FORCES PRESENT AT CONVERSION 

% BOTH 
% FE- % FEMALES 

MALES MALES AND MALES 



1. 


Fear of death or hell: 


14 


14 


14 


2. 


Other self-regarding mo- 










tives : 


5 


7 


6 


3. 


Altruistic motives: 


6 


4 


5 


4. 


Following out a moral 










ideal : 


15 


20 


17 


5. 


Remorse, conviction of 










sin, etc. : 


15 


18 


16 


6. 


Response to teaching: 


11 


8 


10 


7. 


Example, imitation, etc. : 


14 


12 


13 


8. 


Social pressure, urging, 










etc. : 


20 


17 


19 



SUMMARY 

Sum of 1 and 2 — self-re- 
garding motives: 19 21 20 

Sum of 3 and 4 — other- 
regarding and ideal 
motives 21 24 22 

Sum of 1 to 5 — subjective 

forces: 55 63 58 

Sum of 6 to 8- — objective 

forces: 45 37 42 

We have already noted that between the years 
eighteen and twenty -five another readjustment of 
religion takes place. It is the period of readjust- 
ment on the threshold of manhood. There is less 
display of emotion and enthusiasm over religious 



184 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

matters. The earlier forces are undergoing a proc- 
ess of reconstruction and transformation so as to 
be more adaptable to the broadened experience and 
intellectual development of life. 

It is at this time that doubts appear. The broad- 
ening of the youth's intellectual experience has de- 
veloped the spirit of inquiry. He is not so willing 
to accept as religious truths mere statements to be 
bolstered up by faith; he wants to know the reason- 
ableness of his belief. This species of intellectual 
doubt, which is usually sincere at this period of life, 
should be met by a patient, sympathetic attitude on 
the part of teacher or parent. The doubting atti- 
tude of this period can be appreciated because it is 
a common experience of a growing, developing mind. 
As the adolescent youth comes to a more complete 
knowledge of religious truth, his doubts will largely 
disappear. However, this is the golden opportunity 
for the Bible School teacher. It is a time when posi- 
tive, sincere teaching is required. By careful guid- 
ance and broader and deeper teaching the youth's 
horizon may be enlarged, and he can be led out of 
doubt into the way of truth. His questions can be 
answered and his faith strengthened and his knowl- 
edge increased. 

Dr. Coe says : " A large horizon is often suffi- 
cient. A doubt as to the inspiration of the Scrip- 
tures can best be met by exhibiting the growth of 
the self-revelation of God of which the Scriptures are 
a record. One who appreciates the growth of the 
religious consciousness in Israel is not likely to be 
troubled with the question of inspiration. Similarly, 
doubts as to the person of Christ may well be met 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 185 

by intensive study of His life as a whole, and a broad 
study of the place which He occupies in the general 
religious history of humanity." * 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

As has already been intimated, the great problem 
of the Bible School is to hold the boy who has reached 
the age of fourteen. When he reaches that age, he 
feels that he has graduated from it and that he has 
learned all the school can teach him. There is pre- 
sented here a most difficult problem. However, we 
see no good reason why the adolescent boy should 
not be held, and give to the school the service and 
help which it vitally needs and has reason to expect 
from him. 

We firmly believe that Bible School teachers for 
the adolescent period of boyhood and manhood 
should be males. A male teacher is better fitted to 
enter into the experiences and rapidly developing 
changes of this period of life than a female. Girls 
of the adolescent era are less likely to manifest the 
attitude toward the school which boys show, and are 
more easily held to its regular attendance. 

Where the teaching is of a strong, positive, and 
sincere nature, the adolescent youth will be held. It 
is the critical and inquiring period of life, and his 
soul has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He 
knows when a teacher is unprepared or merely passes 
over the vital truths of the lesson. He is a harsh 
taskmaster with respect to the plans pursued by his 
teacher. He has every reason to expect his teacher 
to present the lesson to him in such a way that he 
iCoe: Education in Religion and Morals, page 265. 



186 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

can be led to understand the difficult problems and 
helped in solving them. 

The present movement of organized classes for 
boys and men appeals to large numbers and meets a 
long felt need, but organization is not the crux of 
the problem. The solution is found in the applica- 
tion of consecrated, intelligent, and practical teach- 
ing. 

We have already shown that this is the great con- 
version period and hence the great recruiting time 
for church membership. When the Bible School 
loses the youth, the church likewise suffers. The en- 
tire church service is not to be conducted from the 
viewpoint of the adult alone, but the preaching, 
hymnology, ritual, and worship are to be conducted 
so that it will also appeal to the adolescent period. 
Upon the Bible School teacher rests in large measure 
the responsibility and the opportunity to direct 
young people to membership in the church, where 
they may use their talents for active service. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE TEACHER'S REQUISITES 

Christian — Student — : Patience — Positive — 
The Ideal — The Object. 

The office that a teacher fills is a divinely appointed 
one. It is a commission instituted by the divine 
Master himself. It is a vocation fraught with great 
responsibilities and possibilities. The opportunities 
of the Bible School teacher are practically limitless. 
His is an opportunity to mould the life of a child 
into the way of noble character, unselfish service, and 
spiritual truth. In order that he may magnify his 
office certain requisites are essential, which we state 
as follows : 

CHRISTIAN 

First of all we believe that the Bible School teacher 
should be a Christian. In John, the twenty-first 
chapter, verses 15 to 17, a remarkable conversation 
took place between Christ and Peter in which the 
Master places upon Peter as teacher and disciple the 
responsibility, " Feed my lambs," " Feed my sheep." 
This is the responsibility laid upon every teacher. 
This is the commission to be fulfilled by him by whose 
hand the future destinies of men and women shall be 
largely moulded. Naturally such responsibility im- 

187 



188 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

plies spiritual power and consecration; these things 
the Bible School teacher must possess in large degree. 
He must thoroughly believe that the Bible is the 
word of God, and must manifest this belief in faith 
and practice. His life is to be an exemplary one and 
a source of inspiration to his class. He is to re- 
member the words of Paul to Timothy, and follow 
after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
and meekness. 1 

Naturally the statement that the teacher should 
be a Christian implies that he should be a church 
member. The Bible School is the right arm of the 
church, and from it the members of the church are 
for the most part gathered. The teacher is to guide 
his pupils by precept and example to a decision for 
Christ and a union with the church. Dr. Coe well 
says : " In the nature of things, the kingdom of 
God must grow chiefly by securing control of young 
life. The religious impulse must be fed, and it must 
be led on to realize its full manhood through volun- 
tary obedience to Christ. This is religious educa- 
tion." 2 In other words, the Bible School teacher 
should be an active and loyal church member. 

STUDENT 

The teacher should be an earnest Bible student. 
The Bible is the great text-book which he will use in 
teaching. He should not only know all about the 
Bible, but he should know the Bible itself. The spirit 
of the Psalmist should be shown in the attitude of the 
teacher in his study of the Word, — " His delight is 

H Tim. 6:11. 

2 Coe: Education in Religion and Morals, page 39. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 189 

in the law of Jehovah; and in his law doth he medi- 
tate day and night." x His study should be marked 
by earnestness, thoroughness, humility, and rever- 
ence. It is one thing to read the Bible, but quite an- 
other to study and meditate upon it. 

It would be well for him to have also an intimate 
knowledge of literature, biography, history, science, 
geography, etc., as these will be a great help to him 
in the teaching of the lesson, and will serve to illus- 
trate many Bible truths and to impress these truths. 

The careful study of the Bible means the enrich- 
ment of the store of knowledge, so that the teacher 
will always have an inexhaustible well of truth from 
which to draw. Slovenly and careless habits in Bible 
study will be reflected in teaching, and eventually in 
loss of control and influence over the pupils. Pro- 
fessor Payne, in his " Theory and Practice of Teach- 
ing," says with respect to habits of study for public 
school teachers something which will apply to Bible 
School teachers as well : " Unless the teacher takes 
care to furnish his own mind, he will soon find his 
present stock of knowledge, however liberal that may 
be, feeding from his memory and becoming unavail- 
able. To prevent this, and to keep along with every 
improvement, he should regularly pursue a course of 
study." 2 

PATIENCE 

Another essential requisite is patience. Some- 
times the opening service in the Bible School — the 
singing, reading of lesson, etc. — is carried on in a 

i Ps. 1 :2. 

2 Payne: Theory axd Practice of Teaching, page 69. 



190 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

rush spirit. It causes excitement among the pupils, 
so that the spirit of reverence or worship is de- 
stroyed. Then the teacher catches the same spirit 
and seeks to rush the teaching of the lesson. Good, 
effective teaching cannot be done hurriedly. The 
teacher who tries to rush his work with his class will 
find that the work of the hour is largely a failure. 
The pupils are raised to a high nervous pitch, their 
minds are in an unsettled state, and they will fail to 
grasp the truth. Then, too, a teacher fails, by this 
rush method, to bring out the truths which he would 
do if sufficient time were given to develop the 
truth. 

Sometimes a teacher has a class, some of whom 
are unruly, mischievous, stupid, and indifferent 
pupils. He may be discouraged and feel that his 
teaching is unfruitful and that his time is wasted. 
This is just the time when he needs to manifest a 
patient, kind, and tactful spirit. The worst thing 
he can do under such circumstances is to scold and 
become angry. What influence he might otherwise 
have over his class will be destroyed at once. His 
pupils will never respond to his efforts, and under 
the circumstances the best thing he can do is to re- 
sign. 

When a difficult problem like this confronts him, 
let the teacher meet it in the spirit of patience and 
prayer. Every teacher has his periods of discour- 
agement, but the times of encouragement and suc- 
cess are far greater. When a teacher is acquainted 
with the home life, environment, training, and per- 
sonal life of each one of his pupils, he will know how 
to meet such problems as they arise. Instead of 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 191 

wanting to resign, he will want to remain with his 
class, and by patient and tactful teaching bring each 
one to the higher standard of living taught by the 
Word of God. The lives of so many pupils are lack- 
ing in the ennobling principles of life. The teacher 
needs to remember that his is a high and holy calling ; 
his is the opportunity to teach high ideals, to lay the 
foundations for nobler living, and to guide young 
lives to the goal of high calling which is found in 
Christ Jesus our Lord. It will require patient effort, 
but patience born of infinite love, which the teacher 
should have for each of his pupils, will bring ultimate 
victory. 

POSITIVE 

The teacher should be positive in teaching. The 
Bible School is no place to teach doubt, scepticism, 
or a superficial belief in the Bible. If the teacher has 
any doubt concerning the essentials of religion, he 
is not called upon to fill the holy office of teaching. 

Follow the example of Jesus, our master Teacher, 
and note the strong positive note in his message. His 
is not a negative message, but an unfolding of the 
truth in terms of doing, growing, and becoming. The 
fulfillment of these truths is to be found in the indi- 
vidual personality, interpreted by character and serv- 
ice. 

So, likewise, the message of the Bible School teacher 
is to be constructive. He should be ready to meet 
any questions of doubt and unbelief which may be 
asked him by his pupils. Many questions of such 
a nature will be asked out of ignorance. His is the 
opportunity to dispell doubt and unbelief from their 



192 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

minds by giving them the truth based on scientific 
investigation and a thorough study of God's Word. 

THE IDEAL 

We have mentioned the requisites which we believe 
are essential for every Bible School teacher to possess. 
The faithful fulfillment of these qualifications will in 
large measure be the determining factor in a teacher's 
success. However, these requisites are not everything 
in a teacher's equipment. He needs to have a high 
ideal. This ideal should ever be before him as a 
guide and model. He should seek to make his equip- 
ment and effort conform as closely as possible to this 
ideal. 

Jesus is the ideal teacher. He is the ideal of every 
Bible School teacher and should be of every public 
school, college, and university teacher. The example 
of Jesus in preparation and equipment should be an 
inspiration to every instructor. He realized the 
great responsibility resting upon him and the supreme 
importance of his mission among men. He came not 
to be ministered unto, but to minister. He came to 
guide humanity into the way, the truth, and the life. 
On this point Dr. Brumbaugh significantly says: 
" What was the equipment of Jesus for this impor- 
tant work? We have only a few glances into the 
rich life that he lived to the age of thirty, but all of 
these are significant, and indicate that he was steadily 
pursuing a definite purpose and fitting himself for a 
specific service. If now we consider what he did 
after the age of thirty, we are led to the conclusion 
that all these earlier years were spent in study, in 
meditation, in prayer, in direct communion with the 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 193 

Father. There may have been times when he be- 
came impatient over the long delay of the time when 
he should come forth and teach. If this were the 
case, we have no hint of it in anything that he said or 
did. On the contrary, it seems reasonable to assume 
that he willingly spent thirty years preparing him- 
self to teach for three years. . . . Because his prepa- 
ration was so unusual, his teaching likewise is un- 
usual. He was never confused in a controversy. He 
never lacked for methods to teach. He never failed 
to grasp the right conditions under which to teach. 
He taught with power because he was thoroughly pre- 
pared to teach." * 

THE OBJECT 

Jesus had a definite object in His teaching, whereby 
He sought to bring the human will into right rela- 
tions with the will of God. He himself always lived 
and taught this great principle. Every great 
teacher, philosopher, and writer has had some definite 
object which he desired to accomplish by his teaching, 
philosophy, and writing. The same should be true 
of the Bible School teacher. There should be some 
ultimate aim which he should strive to achieve. 
That object or aim should be twofold: (1) charac- 
ter; (2) training of the will. 

When we mention character, of course we mean 
Christian character. This should be the aim of every 
Bible School teacher, — that is, that the truth which 
he teaches should be productive of Christian charac- 
ter ; or, as Paul sets forth the aim of teachers, " For 

i Brumbaugh: The Making or a Teacher, pages 264 and 
265. 



194 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the perfecting of the saints, with the work of minis- 
tering, unto the building up of the body of Christ; 
till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of 
the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full grown 
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fitness of 
Christ." * 

Christian truth results in transforming the whole 
life. It is the power which brings about conversion 
and decision for Christ so that the individual may 
form the Christ life within him. This should be one 
of the objects of the Bible School teacher. 

The training of the will should be his next 
object. The training of the will to properly func- 
tionate, of course, begins with earliest childhood. 
In this important training the Bible School teacher 
has a most vital part to fulfill. He has the oppor- 
tunity to guide and mould the child mind from earliest 
and through later childhood, through adolescence, on 
up to maturity, so that, step by step, he may be 
taught knowledge of good and evil and how to make 
choices and decisions in harmony with Christian 
truth. 

In this will training there is opportunity, through 
the lessons of the Bible School, to show that Christian 
character is found in the fulfillment of the Golden 
Rule every day of the week. The Bible as the great 
text-book unfolds innumerable illustrations whereby 
the pupil may be brought to a knowledge concerning 
the making of right choices. The application of 
these Bible truths to the pupil's life enriches that life 
in character and service. 

The training of the pupil's will is but the applica- 
lEphes. 4:12-13. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 195 

tion of the great principles as set forth in the methods 
of Jesus. It was Jesus who said, " Be ye therefore 
perfect even as } r our Father which is in heaven is 
perfect." 1 In other words, the message of the great 
Teacher was that each one should strive after per- 
fection of soul. This he showed could only be done 
by making the human will act in harmony with the 
divine Will. Each individual's acts, deeds, and words 
were to reflect this striving after perfection. These 
things could only result from a will perfectly trained 
to make right decisions. 

The Master's example of suffering in Gethsemane 
reveals the great educational principles of His life 
work. As He agonized He said, " Not my will, but 
thine, be done. 2 This was but an example of the 
harmony of the Master's will with God's. Such 
should be the aim of the Bible School teacher. 



iMatt. 5:48. 
2 Luke 22:39^19, 



CHAPTER XII 

PREPARATION AND TEACHING 

The Pupil — Study — Prayer — Step by Step — 
Reading and Helps — Discussion Groups — Sugges- 
tions from Others — Essential Principles of Teach- 
ing: adaptation; attention; system; review; variety 
— Dr. McMurry's Suggestion — The Rewards. 

In the preparation of the Bible School lesson there 
are two essential points to be remembered by the 
teacher: (1) knowledge of his pupils; (£) careful, 
systematic study. 

THE PUPIL 

The pupil's life must be well known. It is his life 
that the teacher must influence, bend, and direct. 
Teaching will be ineffective if that knowledge is lack- 
ing. There must be an intimate knowledge of the 
home life, whether it is a Christian home or not. The 
teacher should also know something about the ten- 
dencies of his pupil's life when away from home ; how 
he spends his leisure time; the nature of the life of 
his associates. He should know how much interested 
each one is in study and reading, his daily work, and 
how willingly are performed tasks which are depend- 
ent upon each one's own initiative. In fact, every- 
thing should be known that can possibly be known 

about each pupil. 

196 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 197 

STUDY 

In the study of the lesson the teacher should be 
guided by the needs of the pupils whom he expects 
to teach. He should have each pupil's personality 
before him, and should outline and plan his lesson in 
such manner that some distinctive truth will be de- 
veloped so as to fit into the peculiar need of each 
pupil. This will, of course, involve careful plan- 
ning and systematic work and study. Thus we see 
how essential it is to have a systematic method of 
study. No work can be properly done or accom- 
plished without following a definite plan and method. 
The plan must be effective in order to get the most 
out of the lesson. It is the meaty truth which is to 
be got hold of. One may read over a lesson a hun- 
dred times or memorize the verses, but these plans 
will not be study. The plan must involve thought, 
mental effort, and meditation so that the lesson may 
be rightly imparted to others. The teacher may fol- 
low some other person's plan or develop his own ; the 
point is to have it intelligent and effective. Professor 
Gregory suggested the following. He took the word 
" Bible," and each letter represented some word essen- 
tial as a guide and method in study ; for example, 
" B = book in which the lesson is found (as the Gos- 
pel of Luke or John) — its date, writer, contents, ob- 
ject ; I — intention of the lesson — the facts included 
and the interpretation of these facts ; B = blessing 
and benefits to be gained by learning and obeying this 
lesson ; L = losses likely to follow failure to learn and 
obey ; E = exhortation, experiences, and examples." 

Dr. Vincent has suggested the following, known as 



198 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

" The Four P's and the Four D's." According to 
this, a teacher should examine the parallel passages 
of Scripture bearing on the lesson ; should make him- 
self acquainted with the persons, places, dates, and 
doings covered by or included in the lesson; and 
should consider the doctrines declared and the duties 
involved in the lesson teachings." 

PRAYER 

But before the lesson is studied, the first factor to 
be noted — and this is the first essential of the plan 
to be followed — is prayer. We need to spell the 
word in capital letters, so important is its applica- 
tion in the preparation of the teacher. The writer 
recalls that in his first pastorate, in a teachers' 
training class which he conducted the question con- 
cerning the teacher's preparation was under discus- 
sion. After several had stated what they considered 
to be the first essential principle, a young woman 
finally said that her view was prayer. Then she 
stated that she never began the study of her lesson 
without first asking for spiritual enlightenment and 
divine guidance. She brought to the throne of grace 
the individual needs of her pupils as she understood 
them, and asked for wisdom to meet those problems 
and needs effectively. Her teaching was successful 
and her influence over her class was little short of 
marvellous. She believed in putting first things first, 
and she taught as she prayed. 

No teacher can afford to lose sight of the value of 
the prayer life. No plan or method will be effective 
unless there is concentrated and consecrated spiritual 
power to inspire it with energy. We have but to 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 199 

pause a moment and see that prayer occupied the fore- 
most place in the active and strenuous lives of Jesus, 
Paul, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, the Wesleys, 
and Moody. Every duty was first prayed over and 
then planned to be performed. 

One of the last words our beloved and now sainted 
Professor of Homiletics gave to us was " Young 
men, pray, pray, pray, before you write your ser- 
mon." These same words form the basis upon which 
the Bible School teacher is to work in the preparation 
of the lesson. 

STEP BY STEP 

The lesson should be studied step by step, point by 
point. For example, if a series of lessons on a new 
book are started, the first thing a teacher should do 
is to read as much as possible about that book. In 
getting this information he should read the best, and 
books written by writers who are specialists in their 
subjects. He should learn all he can about the 
author — his nature, and the general lessons he 
writes to impress. He should enrich his knowledge 
concerning the historical events of the time, so that 
the historical background will be clearly understood. 

The introduction of the lesson should be studied 
from various angles, so that its historical, social, and 
religious viewpoint are closely fixed in his mind. The 
lesson itself should be read over carefully, and we 
believe it would be well to read it over several times 
that the story may be clearly impressed on the mind. 
If the lesson is a part of the chapter, it would be well 
to read the whole chapter several times as well. The 
preceding and succeeding chapters should also be 



200 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

read in order that the connecting events may be 
clearly understood. 

The lesson, then, should be studied first as a whole 
in order to gain a general idea of its relation to the 
preceding and succeeding part of the book as a part 
of the general plan of the work as set forth by the 
author. Then should follow the careful, painstaking, 
intensive study verse by verse. The teacher would 
do well to write down an analysis of the whole lesson. 
For example, perhaps the lesson could be divided into 
three, four, or five main divisions. Next try to fill 
under each head the verses which belong there. Then 
should be made subdivisions applicable to each main 
head as verse by verse is studied. There will be im- 
portant words in the text which demand close scrutiny 
and investigation, and these should be given careful 
study. The temptation to put interpretation upon a 
verse to meet some preconceived nature and opinion 
is common to many teachers. This is just what it is 
necessary to avoid. There should be no effort to dis- 
tort or to read into a verse a meaning which cannot 
be found there. Interpretations must be in harmony 
with the historical setting of the book, the nature of 
the writer, and the social and religious ideals which 
guided him. In other words, the interpretations of a 
writer must be in harmony with the message he has 
enunciated. 

In the preparation the needs of one's pupils must 
be continually kept in mind so that the teaching will 
be adapted to them. By writing down the various 
points of the lesson as suggested, the lesson will be 
arranged in the mind in an orderly fashion, and one 
will be able to present it more clearly. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 201 

In the study of the lesson will be found more ma- 
terial than it will be possible to teach the class. The 
carefully prepared teacher will bring out the truth 
which the class needs to know. The question, of 
course, will be what to choose and what to put aside. 
Experience and careful study will help. Dr. Trum- 
bull says : " Your study must include a great deal 
more than an acquaintance with all the multitudinous 
dishes on the extended bill-of-lesson-fare. You are 
to decide which of these dishes are suited to your par- 
ticular scholars, with their tastes and needs as you 
know them ; for unless you do this you will cram your 
scholars without feeding them, or they will famish 
while you are expatiating on the merits of dishes 
which are wholly beyond their reach." x 

The Golden Text should be studied very carefully. 
It should be used to illustrate many of the truths of 
the lesson. It should not be quoted as a verse of 
Scripture, but something should be told about the 
book from which it is taken and the occasion which 
brought forth the truth as contained in it. The 
Golden Text should be, as it were, a golden thread 
which can be traced through the whole lesson. 

Then the preparation of the lesson should be 
studied so that the teaching will bring out at least 
one prominent and distinctive lesson taught. Some- 
times this may be summed up in the Golden Text. It 
is better to seek for a particular, distinctive lesson 
which can be developed from the text itself. Once 
that lesson has been found, the final preparation of 
the lesson should be centered and focused about it. 

i Trumbull: Teaching and Teachebs, page 123. 



202 THE ESSENTIALS OF 



READING AND HELPS 

A teacher should be a voracious reader. That is, 
he should read all the books and magazines and peri- 
odicals which his time will permit. Of course, it is 
not necessary to add that he should not read every- 
thing that he picks up. His reading should be 
marked by careful choice and selection. He should 
read works and articles which are worth while, which 
will give him broad and comprehensive information, 
and knowledge from the specialist's viewpoint. His 
reading should cover history, biography, missionary 
activities, the social and religious life and customs of 
different peoples, travels, Bible discoveries and ex- 
planations, etc., all of which will be helpful in giving 
him broader knowledge for his work. 

The teacher should use all the helps that he can, 
such as commentaries, Bible dictionaries, geographies, 
etc. These works will stimulate his thought and be 
suggestive. No help is to be slavishly followed, but 
their purpose and use is to guide, direct, and sug- 
gest. As far as possible be an independent student 
and thinker. Do not accept a statement just be- 
cause some commentator has put his imprimatur 
upon it. Invariably it is his opinion. You are en- 
titled to yours. Test his statements and opinions 
by your own experience, study, and research. In 
this manner your independence of thought and study 
will be developed. 

DISCUSSION GROUPS 

It is a good plan for the officers and teachers of the 
school to meet once a week for at least one hour in 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 203 

order to discuss, and to talk over the lesson inform- 
ally. The exchange of ideas and views will be mutu- 
ally helpful and stimulating. Have a leader ap- 
pointed for each week whose duty it shall be to out- 
line the lesson as he has prepared it and to open the 
discussion. The plan is not to have a formal paper 
prepared and read, because this would defeat the very 
purpose of the meeting. The leader should give in 
a general and informal way his outline, which should 
be full of hints and which will suggest discussion. 
Through this conference method the teachers will be 
drawn into a closer band, and many difficult points 
will be classified and solved. 

SUGGESTIONS FROM OTHERS 

" Read over the lesson, read it in different transla- 
tions, in the original if you can, or in the different 
languages you may know, each one flashing forth 
light on some point or fact not seen so clearly in the 
others. Some truths, too, are brought out more dis- 
tinctly by reading the passages aloud. 

" Note that it is important to read the whole lesson 
and not merely the verses selected for printing in the 
quarterlies, ' the gist of the lesson.' The Interna- 
tional Lesson Committee has always implied, and for 
a number of years has expressly stated with each les- 
son, that the lesson is more than the verses selected 
for printing and detailed study, and is a whole section 
of the history. Yet there are not only teachers, but 
even lesson writers and wise critics, who have s an 
acute attack of inadequate information ' on the 
point. But no good teacher confines himself to the 
verses printed in the quarterlies, nor to the best 



204 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

' helps.' Read the whole lesson section carefully 
if the lesson be historical; and remember, if the les- 
son is doctrinal, that every great doctrine is revealed 
in several forms, in didactic statements, in history, 
in parable, in life, and in song — and we need them 
all in order to see the doctrine as it really is." x 

Rev. Drawbridge says : " Having ( 1 ) isolated one 
simple, and well-defined idea — and by keeping it 
before the mind, allowed it to grow spontaneously 
— it is necessary (2) to set to work to think it out 
in all its bearings. In this way, all that the teacher's 
past knowledge and experience are able to supply is 
added to the idea. Then, after one has ' thought one- 
self empty,' it is necessary (3) to ' read oneself full.' 
The next process is (4) one of digestion and assimila- 
tion — of meditation and selection. (5) It is essen- 
tial to make a skeleton. Fold a sheet of paper down 
the center, so as to divide it into two parts. One side 
will be for the skeleton, the other for additions and 
corrections. Then by means of single words (or 
abbreviated clauses) indicate each idea. The object 
of a skeleton is to secure the correct sequence of ideas. 
In order to do so, take a bird's eye view of the whole 
lesson. (6) Rearrange and correct the skeleton un- 
til the sequence of ideas and their relevancy are as 
perfect as it is possible to make them. Then (7) 
cut down the analysis to its simple form. Boil it 
down, so to speak, until it is the concentrated essence 
of the lesson. (8) Print it in large, clear type and 
(9) take a mental photograph of it. 

" You now know what you are going to teach. It 

i Peloubet: The Front Line or the Sunday School 
Movement, pages 73 and 74. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 205 

remains to make equally sure of how you will teach 
it. (10) Visualize the class, and keeping them before 
the mind's eye, begin, in imagination, to teach the 
lesson you have prepared. In imagination, question 
the class, illustrate the lesson, recapitulate, and, in 
fact, employ all the teaching devices at your disposal. 
Thus all the arts of which you are master will, so to 
speak, clothe the skeleton, and complete the structure 
of the lesson. (11) Then pray for grace and power 
to do justice to God's truth, and (12) forget your- 
self in your message." * 

ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

We have already mentioned that there are certain 
essential principles to be observed and followed in the 
preparation of the lesson, and the same is true of the 
teaching of the lesson. The results of preparation 
are shown in teaching. There are certain funda- 
mental principles in teaching, whether it is done in 
the public, private, or Bible schools. We deem essen- 
tial the following: 

ADAPTATION 

The instruction which is to be given must be adap- 
table to the age and needs of the pupil. We would 
not expect the same history lesson which is taught to 
the high school student to be taught a pupil in the 
elementary grades. The same principle holds good 
in Bible School instruction. Lessons must be adapted 
to the age and intellectual experience of the pupil. 
The social and spiritual life of the pupil must be un- 
derstood in so much that the instruction may be made 

i Drawbridge: Traikixg of Twig, pages 182 and 183. 



206 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

suitable to meet his needs and requirements. Mr. 
Dubois says : " No teacher more carefully selected 
his material according to his pupils' plane of expe- 
rience than our Lord. As has been shown, Jesus 
went to the people at their point of contact with life, 
and, though a carpenter, he never drew a figure from 
his own calling, but from theirs." * 

ATTENTION 

To teach a class effectively, attention and cooper- 
ation of each pupil is very essential. Mr. Trumbull 
writes : " It has been often counseled as a funda- 
mental rule in teaching, never begin a class exercise 
until you have the attention of every scholar in the 
class. Just so far as this suggests the idea that you 
cannot begin to teach any scholar until you have his 
attention, the rule is a good one. And as applicable 
to an ordinary class where the scholars are reasonably 
well-informed and well-disposed, and are fairly in- 
clined to be learners, it is a rule without exception. 
Wherever, indeed, there is an exception to the rule, 
there is so far an exception to the necessity of teach- 
ing ; for teaching without attention is something that 
never was done, nor ever can be done." 2 

The average Bible School class is not a university 
graduate school class where the scholars sit in wrapt 
attention, eager and ready to take down notes from 
the teacher's lecture. In the Bible School class the 
pupil's attention must be awakened if it is to be held. 
The teaching cannot be mere talking on the part of 
teacher ; the instruction must be carried on in such a 

i Dubois: Point of Contact in Teaching, page 104. 
2 Trumbull: Teaching and Teacher, page 143. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 207 

manner that interest and desire for knowledge will be 
aroused on the part of the pupils. When the pupil 
cooperates with the teacher, then his search after 
truth can be intelligently directed. 

SYSTEM 

Systematization is the next principle to be ob- 
served. Each lesson must serve as a connecting link 
to each other. For example, in touching upon the 
introductory portion of the lesson, the statements 
should be made clearly, as concisely as possible, and 
in an orderly manner, so that the pupil can follow in 
brief outline the thought which will lead up to the les- 
son for the day. 

Definiteness of statement, and systematic, orderly 
arrangement of the lesson material must mark the 
teaching. Teaching is a gradual, step by step, evolu- 
tionary process. To begin with, the pupil's knowl- 
edge is limited or marked by ignorance and stupidity, 
and the teacher must aim to be clearly understood by 
the dullest pupil in the class. Consequently each 
question and statement of historical, doctrinal, or 
practical fact must be set forth so that each will be 
in logical order and " connect itself with the suc- 
ceeding thought." 

It is only from, and by, the way that pupils grasp 
known facts that you can proceed to the unknown. 
To impress upon the mind, to fix securely in the 
memory of the pupil so that the truth will be part and 
parcel of his life, your teaching will have to be rein- 
forced by incident, anecdote, illustration, diagram, 
and object lessons. These will help to clinch the 
truth, arouse the interest and attention of the pupil, 



208 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

and be suggestive for questions. Again we say be 
orderly, logical, and systematic in your teaching. 

REVIEW 

Another essential principle to be borne in mind is 
review. By this principle we mean that in the course 
of the presentation of the lesson there is need for con- 
stant review. The lesson period comes but once a 
week and is limited to a half or three quarters of an 
hour at the most, and unless truths are impressed by 
constant repetition, it is more than likely that the 
pupil will have forgotten them by the next Sunday. 
The teacher should aim by questions to clinch various 
truths already presented in the course of the lesson. 
These recurring questions can be arranged in an or- 
derly manner so as not to confuse the main points, 
in fact they will help to firmly fix in memory the 
salient points. At the close of the lesson there should 
be a number of review questions, the answers of which 
should briefly summarize the main truths for the 
day. 

VARIETY 

An earnest teacher once said: " I lack variety in 
my teaching." This experience is not uncommon by 
any means. Every teacher knows that in teaching 
the lesson, the more varied its presentation is from 
previous ones, the more interested the class seems to 
be. This point needs to be constantly borne in mind. 
Variety in plans of opening and closing the lesson, 
choice of illustrations, and attacking the lesson from 
a new angle, all will serve to overcome monotony in 
teaching. The class will also show responsiveness 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 209 

and new interest. In other words, the teacher should 
strive to teach each lesson differently. 

DR. McMURRY'S SUGGESTION 

The splendid little volume, " How to Conduct the 
Recitation," by Dr. McMurry, should be read again 
and again by every teacher. From it we take the 
following suggestions concerning lesson teaching. 

" First Stage : Presentation. The first stage may 
be broken into two smaller half-day journeys. Be- 
fore setting out on a journey it is well to survey the 
road and glance at a guide-book. Before beginning 
a new subject it is well to recall familiar ideas bearing 
upon it, to refresh our minds. This is a preparatory 
study, a making ready for the lesson. The second 
part is the actual presentation of the new facts, the 
familiarizing the mind with the new subject. 

" The subject-matter is now at hand, and the first 
stage of teaching the lesson is complete. But the 
newly acquired information has not yet settled to its 
proper place in the mind ; it is not properly associated 
with previous knowledge. 

" Second Stage : Elaboration — This elaboration 
of newly presented ideas and facts leads us through a 
series of three additional steps, which thus completes 
the process of acquisition: 

"(1) The new object is compared with similar 
things already in the mind. In this way it finds its 
fitting companionship. 

" (2) Every new object presented to the mind and 
then compared with others gives rise to new conclus- 
ions. The clear statement of this general result or 
truth focuses the main idea of the lesson. 



210 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

" (3) This general truth may now be exemplified in 
new cases and applied to new circumstances. 

"Briefly stated, the steps are as follows: (1) 
preparation; (2) presentation; (3) association and 
comparison; (4) generalization; (5) practical ap- 
plication. 

" It is to be remembered that a subject to be 
treated in this manner must contain a unity of 
thought ; it must center in an ob j ect which is typical 
of a class, so as to serve as a basis of comparison and 
generalization." 

THE REWARDS 

The rewards of the teacher are not to be thought 
of in dollars and cents. His rewards come to him in 
the joy of his work; the development of individual 
character modeled and patterned after the master 
Teacher, Jesus ; the inculcating of ideals of benevo- 
lence and service. The teacher is a leader and guide 
and director of human destiny. Great is his joy when 
he sees his earnest work and zealous effort bear fruit 
in manhood and womanhood of noble Christian char- 
acter. He sees that his work has been blessed by the 
Holy Spirit, and that as he sought to instruct the 
growing and developing mind, his teaching has been 
fruitful. 

The preeminence of teaching may be summed up in 
the words of the poet : 

'"Sow a thought and reap a deed, 
Sow a deed and reap a habit, 
Sow a habit and reap a character. 
Sow a character and reap a destiny." 



CHAPTER XIII 

QUESTIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 

Questions: connecting links; examples; intelligi- 
bility — Illustrations: sources; nature; history; 
biography ; art; geography ; the Bible. 

QUESTIONS 

It has been well said that to ask questions is a fine 
art. So it is. There are questions and questions. 
In order to ask proper questions, study, thought, and 
effort are required. Questioning holds a most impor- 
tant place in teaching. Perhaps we are not extrem- 
ists when we say that teachers can only be called suc- 
cessful when they know how to question properly. 
A teacher may be able to explain a lesson, lecture 
upon it, and yet be unable to ask questions intelli- 
gently. A question intelligently asked and properly 
answered will impress the truth upon the child's 
mind, and he will grasp it better than by any other 
method of teaching. 

The same thing is true, too, with respect to ado- 
lescent and adult classes. We believe that it is the 
general testimony of Bible School teachers that fol- 
lowing the lecture method entirely is not the best plan 
to present the lesson. With older classes we realize 
that more lecture work can be done, but the real in- 
terest and worth of the lesson is found, on the part 

211 



212 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

of the class, when discussions follow as the result of 
questions asked by the teacher. 

It must be borne in mind in asking questions that 
the attainment of proper results is dependent upon 
two factors, namely, a prepared teacher, and a pupil 
who has carefully studied his lesson. It is utterly 
impossible for a teacher to expect to get proper an- 
swers to his questions when a pupil knows compara- 
tively little about the lesson. Herein is found an- 
other problem confronting the Bible School. The 
vast majority of schools do not permit the pupils to 
take the lesson pamphlet home to study the lesson. 
The excuse invariably given is that the pupils will 
lose their books, and will not study the lessons any 
way, and the schools cannot afford to buy new pam- 
phlets continually. It is truly unscientific in man- 
agement and unpedagogical in principle to expect 
definite and constructive results to be achieved by 
following such plans. 

Our Bible Schools need to set a higher standard for 
lesson study as well as teaching. Some kind of an 
educational plan needs to be put into operation 
whereby sentiment and conviction shall result in 
bringing about some home study on the part of the 
pupils. We believe sufficient emphasis has been 
placed on teacher training and preparation; more 
emphasis should be placed on the pupil's study. 
There is not much incentive for a teacher to labor 
early and late in careful, conscientious preparation, 
and then to meet his class on Sunday and find that not 
one of them knows the subject of the lesson. If we 
have home study, we will have better teaching, and 
larger results will be accomplished. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 213 

In these respects the Bible School can learn a 
much needed lesson from the day school. Pupils of 
the latter are provided with study periods, and the 
home study work is reduced to a minimum. It would 
not be impossible for the pupils of each Bible School 
to meet at the church, for a short time at least, to 
study the lesson. This plan could be carried out 
under the direction of a capable officer of the Bible 
School. If this is not feasible, a little study can be 
done at home, and it will not conflict with public 
school work. The pamphlets will not be destroyed 
or lost in large numbers if the pupils know what the 
Bible School authorities expect from them. If the 
pupils are asked to take good care of their books and 
to bring them in good condition to the school each 
Sunday, they will respond to the request. 

CONNECTING LINKS 

Questions should be connecting links, connecting 
lesson to lesson; that is, questions should be asked 
which will serve as a review of last Sunday's lesson 
and as an introduction to the lesson for the day. 
The day's lesson should be so planned that several 
main questions will give an outline of it; then there 
should be subsidiary questions which will bring out its 
minor and yet necessary points. As the lesson is 
studied, the teacher should occasionally ask review 
questions which will serve as connecting links to hold 
together the truth as it is developed. As the hour 
comes to a close, the teacher should gradually sum up 
the lesson. Questions of a review nature should also 
be asked, the answers of which will summarize briefly 
the day's teaching. 



214 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

EXAMPLES 

Many teachers complain that they cannot ask ques- 
tions. This is indeed possible. It requires practice 
and study to ask questions in the proper way. A 
teacher should study his own mental condition and 
the needs which prompt him to ask questions in order 
that his personal requests may be satisfied. He 
realizes that his questions are answered for him per- 
sonally when his requests are fulfilled. So the teacher 
should prepare his lesson and adapt his questions to 
meet the needs of his class. He should study ex- 
amples like Jesus and Socrates. Each was a master 
in the art of questioning. Read that remarkable 
chapter, Matthew the sixteenth, and in it you will 
note that each question unfolds a distinctive truth. 
That is the idea of questioning, so that the lesson 
may be unfolded step by step and in a connected way. 
Each question grows out of the preceding one, and in 
this way truth is classified and understood. The 
same was true of Socrates, and in the dialogues re- 
corded by Plato we will note how his question went 
directly to the point ; it could not be misunderstood. 

Again, study the example of a little child and note 
how carefully he will ask questions. His curiosity 
at first prompted him to ask something about an ob- 
ject. Then one question suggested another until, in 
his childish way, he had attacked the subject from all 
sides, and his limited vocabulary and experience pre- 
vented him from going deeper into the matter. By 
careful study, observance, and practice, the art of 
questioning will be developed, and experience will 
gradually make one more adept in it. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 215 

INTELLIGIBILITY 

Every question should be put in language which is 
simple, plain, and understood. It is a mistake to ask 
questions which are involved. Follow, for example, 
the lawyers who are expert in cross-examining wit- 
nesses ; their questions are framed in simple, clear, 
concise language. Professor Fitch has well stated, 
" If we want to prepare the mind to receive instruc- 
tion, it is worth while: 

" (1) To find out what is known already, and what 
foundation or substraction of knowledge there is on 
which to build. 

" (S) To clear away misapprehension and ob- 
struction from the mind on which we wish to operate. 

" (3) To excite curiosity and interest on the part 
of the learners as to the subject which it is intended 
to teach." x 

Unless a question is framed in simple language and 
clearly stated, the answer will not be what should be 
expected. The four words generally used in asking 
questions are what, which, how, and why, and yet in 
our conversations those words are seldom used cor- 
rectly. In framing a question these words should be 
used correctly. A question should be so stated that 
more than a mere " Yes," or " No " must be given in 
the answer. A sentence as an answer should be 
sought after, although of course this is not always 
required, as it depends upon the question. In ques- 
tioning, there should be variety as to the nature of 
the answers required. 

In order to bring out the truths of the lessons as 

i Fitch i The Art or Questioning, page 10. 



216 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

adapted to the needs of each particular class, the 
teacher should not depend upon the questions found 
in the lesson journal. These may be used as hints 
and suggestions, but they should not be so slavishly 
followed as to be used exclusively. In asking ques- 
tions the teacher should never, for example, read off 
a line of Scripture and then end it in a question, " Is 
that so ? " etc. Such plans defeat the very purpose 
of questions, namely to get the pupils to think. 
There should be freedom of discussion in which the 
pupils should be so vitally interested, as the result of 
the enthusiasm aroused by the teacher, that they will 
question each other and likewise the teacher. When 
this mental activity is shown, the teacher's questions 
have gripped the pupil's minds and definite results are 
being accomplished. Professor Fitch says : 

" It ought to set the learners thinking, to promote 
activity and energy on their parts, and to arouse the 
whole mental faculty into action, instead of blindly 
cultivating the memory at the expense of the higher 
intellectual powers. That is the best questioning 
which best stimulates action on the part of the 
learner; gives him a habit of thinking and inquiring 
for himself ; which tends in a great measure to render 
him independent of his teacher; which makes him in 
fact rather a skillful finder than a patient receiver 
of truth. All our questioning should aim at this ; 
and the success of our teaching must ever be meas- 
ured, not by the amount of information we have im- 
parted, but by the degree in which we have strength- 
ened the judgment and enlarged the capacity of our 
pupils and imparted to them that searching and in- 
quiring spirit which is a far surer basis for all future 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 217 

acquisitions than any amount of mere information 
whatever." * 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Closely related to, and a part of, the teacher's 
question is and should be illustrative or object teach- 
ing. Sometimes a difficult question can be made 
clearer by having some story to illustrate the point. 
The objective appeals to the child's mind. He can 
be brought to understand difficult principles by con- 
crete teaching. The content of the child mind from 
the religious viewpoint is such that it responds readily 
to such teaching. Dr. Hall says : 

" One of the most striking and interesting results 
of modern psychological studies, or studies in the 
growth of the souls of children, consists in showing 
with such overwhelming masses of evidence how every 
child repeats the history of the race in its religious 
development. It is a fetich-worshipper. Every 
child that has a fair chance at life passes through the 
stage of being a fetich-worshipper. Examine the 
contents of a boy's pocket ; you will find, very prob- 
ably, a pretty stone, a bit of lead, a curious piece of 
coal or old junk, iron, or ore, or a lot of these things ; 
or a knot of wood with a curious spot in it — some- 
thing that he has perhaps carried in his pocket for a 
long time. In severe weather it is wrapped up so 
that it won't feel cold. It is taken with the child 
wherever he goes, so that it will have been to New 
York, Philadelphia, and Boston, and shared the 
child's experiences. The temperature is regulated 
for its benefit. And sometimes we find this fetich- 

i Fitch : The Art of Questioning, page 33. 



218 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

worship surviving very curiously in different per- 
sons." x 

Thus it is seen that the objective plays a prominent 
part in the development of the child life. Stories, to 
be effectively used, must be applicable to the point. 
They are always interesting to children, but to use 
them for their own sake should not be done. Illus- 
trations should be narrated in plain, simple, and 
chaste language. In this respect study the parables 
which Jesus used to illustrate his teachings. The 
language he uses is so plain that a child can grasp 
his meaning. By his narration one is able to see in 
clear, distinct outline what he desires to teach. It 
is often very difficult to tell a story in an effective 
way and to bring out the application, but study and 
experience will remedy this. 

SOURCES 

One of the difficult problems frequently confront- 
ing the teacher is where to get material. Many 
teachers have had only limited experience, and they 
are unable to draw on a large store of information. 
Many resort to the plan of consulting stock stories 
which are compiled and issued in book form under 
various topics. But this is too mechanical, and the 
stories invariably found there are old and are often 
impossible to fit into the requirements of the teacher. 
Teachers will invariably find this method too wooden 
to be used satisfactorily. From one's reading, ob- 
servation, and experience sufficient illustrations 
should be found to meet one's needs. We believe the 

iHall: The Religious Content of Child-mind, page 169. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 219 

following suggestions will prove helpful as sources 
from which to glean story material. 

NATURE 

Nature abounds with an unlimited amount of ma- 
terial to provide object lessons. Here abound in- 
numerable illustrations showing God's love and provi- 
dence, manifested in such striking ways that the les- 
sons are obvious. Nature-study appeals to the child 
life, and children respond readily to its teachings. 
For example, Dr. Hall says : " Who has not seen 
some of this Nature love very obvious? The little 
girl, perhaps, talking to the flowers, thinking they 
speak to her, saying her prayers to them, wishing and 
hoping they won't be cold, and covering them up, 
not to save them from wilting, nor because there is 
any danger of frost, but that they may feel the 
warmth she wishes. She imagines she hears voices 
whispering in the trees." x 

It will be worth while to take the pupils to the 
forests, fields, and streams, and to show them Nature 
at her best and teach them the lessons which are re- 
corded there. 

HISTORY 

This is another fruitful source. Here abound 
stories of heroism, valor, self-sacrifice, and self-denial 
which are perennially fresh. These illustrations are 
interesting to all ages, and particularly to the ado- 
lescent who is fond of hearing and knowing about the 
heroes of the world. The Bible School teacher should 

i Hall: Religious Content of Child-mind, page 170. 



220 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

be fond of history and should read it continually. It 
will enrich and broaden his teaching. 

BIOGRAPHY 

A peculiar trait common to all of life is its interest 
in personalities. This, the study of biography brings 
out. Biography is one form of historical study, but 
along narrower and more restricted lines. For ex- 
ample, the various ideals of the men and women who 
have left their impress upon the world for righteous- 
ness furnish abundant illustrations. These facts 
broaden the knowledge of the pupils and also lay 
foundations in their own lives for noble ambitions and 
aspirations. These illustrations will interest the 
children to read for themselves more in detail concern- 
ing the characters mentioned. Biography appeals 
particularly to pupils about thirteen and fourteen 
years of age and upwards. Dr. McMurry says : 
" These biographies furnish an excellent outline for 
the other Bible facts that are later to be acquired. 
That is one element of their worth. When children 
have become men and women, they are greatly in need 
of a framework in which to fit whatever additional 
facts they learn." * 

ART 

Here is a field in illustration that is not fully ap- 
preciated by the average teacher. Think of the 
opportunity afforded the teacher who lives in a large 
city or town where there are art galleries, to visit 
and study the masterpieces, and also to take his class 

i McMurry: Biography in Religious Instruction, page 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 221 

and explain the pictures to them. Many, many 
times the opportunity will arise to illustrate the truth 
which a description of a certain picture will meet. 
The teacher can refer to the picture in the art gallery 
which the class visited, and at once it will be recalled 
to their minds. 

To-day very good and comparatively cheap prints 
of the masterpieces may be purchased. The children 
should be encouraged to make collections of these, for 
they will serve as a source of valuable information to 
them when they grow to manhood and womanhood. 
The teacher who thus encourages his pupils will make 
his teaching more effective and interesting, and his 
illustrations from art will be appreciated and under- 
stood. 

GEOGRAPHY 

Very important for the teacher to know is the geog- 
graphy of Bible times. He should be as well ac- 
quainted with the places mentioned in the lessons as 
he is with the way from his house to the Bible School 
room. We do not mean, of course, that he is to be 
actually acquainted with all the details, but he should 
be able to speak intelligently about the places that 
come up in the lesson. By knowing the geography 
of these places and from his knowledge of general 
history, he will be able to supplement biblical truth 
with additional information. 

It is very important to persuade the pupil to ac- 
quaint himself with biblical geography. Very few 
teachers pay any attention to the maps in their lesson 
pamphlets or direct the pupils' attention to the maps 
in theirs. These maps should be carefully studied 



2£% THE ESSENTIALS OF 

each Sunday in conjunction with the lesson. The 
pupils can understand the lesson intelligently only 
when its geography is clearly understood. 

For example, in studying the missionary journeys 
of Paul, how interesting and helpful those lessons can 
be made when the map is referred to. Then the 
teacher can supplement the Bible story with events 
which took place here and there and which were epoch- 
making in the history of the world. Careful study 
of biblical geography becomes helpful, therefore, to 
teachers and pupils alike. Professor Kent says : 

" No longer is it possible to see with the physical 
eye the peoples whose life and thoughts are recorded 
in the Bible ; but we may view through our own eyes 
or those of modern travellers the scenes of their 
activity. A personal interest is at once aroused, 
which is shared by the youngest as well as the oldest 
pupil. Thus biblical geography furnishes a natural 
and concrete introduction to each department of Bible 
study." 1 

THE BIBLE 

Perhaps it will seem strange that the Bible should 
be mentioned as one of the sources from which 
teachers may glean illustrations and object lessons. 
We should remember that the time that the Bible 
School spends in the study of the Word is utterly 
insufficient to accomplish the great results in charac- 
ter and service which we have reason to expect from 
so important an institution. The teacher should 
aim to supplement this instruction and knowledge for 
his class as much as possible. To meet this require- 

iKent: Geography in Religious Instruction, page £16. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 223 

ment Bible illustrations afford a splendid oppor- 
tunity. It is not sufficient for the teacher to read 
his Bible through so many times ; he must study it 
carefully so that its contents is so well known to 
him that it becomes a part of his nature. 

The Bible teems with stories of heroism, valor, self- 
denial, self-sacrifice, etc. There are recorded in it 
history, biography, nature lessons, etc. In fact it is 
a storehouse of truth, a veritable library. A teacher 
who knows his Bible is never at a loss for an illustra- 
tion, and what a deep impression is made upon the 
mind of the pupil when Scriptural truth is illustrated 
by Scriptural truth ! By drawing illustrations from 
this source the pupil's interest in the Bible is aroused, 
and he will be anxious to know more of its unfathom- 
able treasures. 

A teacher who will utilize these sources from which 
to glean his illustrations will present variety in his 
teaching, and his pupils will manifest an interest 
which is responsive and spontaneous. 



CHAPTER XIV 

BIBLE STUDY 

Ignorance — Agencies to Promote — Methods : 
Historical; Literature; Word studies — Devotional. 

The present time is noted particularly for its 
specialization. We have specialists in business, medi- 
cine, law, education, and many other phases of life. 
For example, he who would specialize in education is 
not satisfied with a general college course, but sup- 
plements the work by intensive research work in the 
graduate school of the university. In order to keep 
up to date in his subject he realizes the need of con- 
tinual study and investigation. 

The same thing is true of the Bible School teacher. 
He needs to realize the full responsibility of his office 
and that he is called to be a specialist in the rich and 
opportune field of religious education. The teacher 
is called to teach the Bible. This is his great text- 
book, from which the nuggets of golden truth are to 
be mined for his pupils. In this work he should 
specialize, not in an unscientific way, just to meet the 
needs of the weekly Bible lesson, but carefully and 
systematically. He should ponder deeply over its 
pages. 

IGNORANCE 

A careful examination of the Bible Schools reveals 
the lamentable fact that much ignorance prevails 

224 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 225 

on the part of the pupils with respect to the 
Bible. The cause of it is twofold: (1) The aver- 
age pupil gets very little or no Bible instruction at 
home. (2) Consequently the responsibility of giv- 
ing the pupils what they do get, rests in a large meas- 
ure with the Bible School teacher and therefore, in 
the limited time that is given for Bible teaching, great 
responsibility rests upon him to see that his instruc- 
tion is full and complete. 

When we mention the prevalence of ignorance of 
the Bible, the following facts will illustrate our point. 
Some years ago President Thwing of Western Re- 
serve University at the first Bible exercise of the 
freshman class gave a test to 34 young men, all but 1 
of whom were connected with some one of 9 religious 
congregations in the Central States. He wrote out 
on the black-board 22 quotations from the writings 
of the poet Alfred Tennyson, with whose writings all 
educated persons are more or less familiar. These 
22 extracts all contained references or allusions to 
the Holy Scriptures. In a word, to each of these 34 
men 22 questions were put, which would demand 748 
answers. The record shows that out of the 748 
answers, only 328 were correct, — not quite 44 per 
cent. 

These quotations were given to a senior class of 38 
negro and Indian students at Hampton, Virginia, 
none of whom could enter college without three years' 
further study. Of the 836 possible answers, 645 
were given correctly, or 77 per cent. One student 
answered all the questions; 3, all but 1. 

Dr. George A. Coe, in order to test the Bible 
knowledge of his students in Northwestern Univers- 



2£6 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

ity, seized the opportunity to put a few simple queries 
about the Bible to nearly one hundred college stu- 
dents. Most of these persons, no doubt, were 
brought up in Christian homes and had enjoyed such 
instruction as the average Bible School or pulpit of 
our day afford. The questions were : 

(1) What is the Pentateuch? 

(2) What is the Higher Criticism of the Scrip- 
tures ? 

(3) Does the Book of Jude belong to the Old 
Testament or the New? 

(4) Name one of the patriarchs of the Old Testa- 
ment. 

(5) Name one of the judges of the Old Testament. 

(6) Name three of the kings of Israel. 

(7) Name three prophets. 

(8) Give one of the beautitudes. 

(9) Quote a verse from the Letter to the Romans. 

Ninety-six papers were returned, in which 8 an- 
swered correctly all, 13 answered correctly 8, 11 an- 
swered correctly 7, 5 answered correctly 6, 9 
answered correctly 5, 12 answered correctly 4, 11 
answered correctly 3, 13 answered correctly 2, 11 
answered correctly 1, 3 answered correctly 0. 

Out of the 96 the number giving the correct an- 
swer to the first question was 60; to the second, 16 
to the third, 56 ; to the fourth, 61 ; to the fifth, 45 
to the sixth, 47 ; to the seventh, 52 ; to the eighth, 76 
to the ninth, 31. 

As the number of papers was approximately 100, 
these figures may substantially be taken as percent- 
ages. The total number of correct answers was 444, 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 227 

out of 864, or nearly 52 per cent, a little more than 
half. 1 

Very recently we conducted similar tests with col- 
lege sophomores, graduate students of the university, 
Bible school teachers and pupils. The ignorance of 
the Bible, even in facts which should be a matter of 
common knowledge, was alarmingly manifested. For 
example, Joshua was mentioned as a disciple of 
Jesus ; Deuteronomy was called a gospel ; the minor 
prophetical books belonged to the New Testament ; 
Jesus brought the children of Israel into the Promised 
Land, etc. 

AGENCIES TO PROMOTE 

Within recent years various agencies have been 
instituted to promote Bible study. Courses are 
found in college curricula. Bible teacher training 
schools, organized like the one established in New 
York City by Dr. Wilbert W. White, the one of 
Temple University and others, the Young Men's and 
Young Women's Christian Associations, summer as- 
semblies, Chautauquas, etc., are some of the numer- 
ous agencies organized to promote systematic Bible 
study. But the greatest work yet remains to be done. 
The church, Bible School and religious press should 
carry on a broader and more comprehensive educa- 
tional campaign in order to induce people to make 
Bible study a part of the regular home routine. The 
majority of our homes to-day think this entire respon- 
sibility rests upon the Bible School. It needs to be 
shown that this is an erroneous and mistaken idea. 

iPeloubet: Front Line Sunday School Movement, pages 
160-164. 



228 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

If the home is going to depend entirely upon the Bible 
School for this training, then public opinion should 
be aroused to such an extent that sometime during 
the week additional time will be given to this much 
needed study. 

METHODS 

The methods of Bible study which we would sug- 
gest for the teacher to pursue would be the following : 

HISTORICAL 

First is the historical method. The entire Bible 
may be studied from the viewpoint of history. Every 
book of the Old and New Testament is closely asso- 
ciated, and forms a part of the historical development 
of the world. Many parts of the Bible, like the 
Decalogue, the Sermon on the Mount, etc., have 
brought about epoch-making events in the world's 
history. In order to understand each book, its pur- 
pose and mission, the corresponding events of the 
time must be known and understood. With a clear 
knowledge of the historical background the book 
will not only be more interesting, but its interpreta- 
tion will be easier. The wonder of the Bible is shown 
in its authentic statements and the sincerity of the 
writers. The work of the archaeologist and histori- 
cal student in their discoveries and studies helps to 
substantiate the Bible record. 

" Oriental archaeology," says Dr. Sayce, " tells us 
how the men thought and acted who were contempo- 
rary with the heroes of the Hebrew Scriptures. It 
brings before us as in a photograph the politics of 
the day, and the theatre wherein these politics were 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 2£9 

represented. In reading Sennacherib's account of 
his campaign against Hezekiah we are brought face 
to face with history just as much as we should be 
by the columns of a modern newspaper, and we can 
picture the events with as much definiteness of out- 
line in the one case as we can in the other. No con- 
ventional ideas of what the narrative ought to mean 
come between us and the picture it presents. We 
judge it rightly or wrongly according to our capac- 
ity for forming a judgment upon purely historical 
ground. Our concern is with history, and we realize 
that such is the case. 

" It is in this way that oriental archaeology has 
come to teach us how to read and understand the 
narratives of the Old Testament. We begin to learn 
what the history of the Orient was in the days of 
Moses, of Solomon, or of Hezekiah, and with this 
key in our hands can unlock the historical treasures 
of the Bible." x 

LITERATURE 

Dr. Moulton of Chicago University has issued an 
epoch making work which he has called, " The Liter- 
ary Study of the Bible." By the literary study of 
the Bible we mean, quoting his words, " If, then, the 
Bible is justly called literature, we ought to be pre- 
pared to find that the Bible is made up of epics and 
lyrics and dramas and essays and philosophic trea- 
tises and epistles and a great many other of these 
literary forms. Now the literary study of the Bible 
is the study of these great literary forms in connec- 

1 Sayce : The Higher Criticism and the Monuments, page 
560. 



230 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

tion with the Scriptures — epic, lyric, dramatic, 
philosophic, and the like : — the study of these forms, 
and of their numerous subdivisions, and of the liter- 
ary mechanism by which these literati realize them- 
selves. And the foundation principle of this particu- 
lar literary study of the Bible is this : that a clear 
grasp of the outward literary form is essential to the 
understanding of the matter and principle." 

In making a literary study of the Bible it is neces- 
sary to study each book as a whole. It is necessary 
to get the historical perspective, the occasion for 
writing, the author's motive, and the underlying prin- 
ciples involved in it. We must view the book as a 
unit and not study it verse by verse, because the di- 
vision into verses is mechanical and was done by some 
one else and not by the writer himself. In order to 
get the real meaning of the author, it will be neces- 
sary to go through it again and again, and even- 
tually the ideas will be clearer. After one has a grip 
upon the style of the author and has become accus- 
tomed to his language and expression, it will be easier 
to understand his meaning. Take, for example, the 
Book of Ezekiel. The book seems to be dry reading, 
and in many parts uninteresting and the language 
difficult to understand ; but after one has read it three 
or four times the book is found to be one of the most 
interesting and inspiring of all the prophetical works. 
His fiery language, symbolical pictures, and strong 
appeals for righteousness show the intensity and 
earnestness of the prophet in the cause of God. As 
Bible students and teachers we should be closely and 
intimately acquainted with the literary merit of its 
books. Every Bible teacher should show his pupils 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 231 

the beautiful literature which composes God's word. 
This offers another way whereby each pupil may be 
more vitally interested in the study of the Bible. 

In the literary study of the Bible, God's great reve- 
lations from which men have developed doctrines are 
unfolded in poetry, drama, philosophy, parable, alle- 
gory, metaphor, symbol, history, and biography. 
When viewed in the light of literature and historical 
study, many of the differences of opinion which have 
arisen at times will be classified and their meaning 
understood. 

In concluding this topic let us remember the perti- 
nent words of Dr. Moulton : " We are accustomed 
— I don't speak of Sunday Schools now — we are 
accustomed, in the scheme of our high schools and 
colleges and universities, to send our young people 
for their literary culture to literatures which spir- 
itually are at the opposite poles from ourselves — 
to the great literatures of Greece and Rome, which 
spiritually are negative to us, where the highest pas- 
sion is sensuous passion, the highest conception of 
Providence is mocking fate, where philosophies are 
philosophies in which God is a traditional accident ; 
and all the while we have in our own hands, being fa- 
miliar with it from our very childhood, one of the 
oldest, grandest literatures, in which lyrics are not 
inferior to the lyrics of Greece, oratory is equal to 
anything that the world has ever produced, philoso- 
phy has an application to our actual life ; which gives 
us dramas such as no theatre could ever attempt — 
dramas in which all space is the stage, all time is the 
period, and God Himself is one of the chief actors. 
Is it not reasonable that we should accustom those 



%m THE ESSENTIALS OF 

who are seeking higher education to associate liter- 
ary beauty with that which is in harmony with our 
spiritual feeling, and not simply with that which is 
opposed to it? And you whose immediate concern is 
to deal with the teaching of Sunday Schools, see, in 
carrying out your tasks, that you lay a foundation 
for bringing together, in later life, the study of the 
classics and the literary study of the Bible." x 

WORD STUDIES 

Word studies form another invaluable method of 
Bible Study. By word study, of course, we mean the 
careful investigation and study of the meaning of 
various important words which occur in the text, as 
to the number of times they are found and the vari- 
ous meanings as derived from the context. This 
method, of course, is applicable to Old and New Tes- 
taments alike. 

Word studies may be carried on in the best way by 
a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. In these lan- 
guages the shades of meaning are brought down to 
finer points of distinction than is possible in the Eng- 
lish translations. We realize that it is too much to 
expect a Bible School teacher to be trained in these 
languages, for it takes years of specialization to be 
proficient in them. If it is possible, however, we 
would advise Bible School teachers to have some 
knowledge of these tongues. It is remarkable how 
interesting and inspiring their study will be found, 
and a little study day by day in spare moments, 
will gradually give a good workable knowledge of 
them. One appreciates and values the Bible more 

iMoulton: Literary Study of the Bible, page 288. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 233 

with a knowledge of the languages in which it was 
originally written, and it is interesting, helpful, edu- 
cative, and stimulating for a Bible School teacher to 
tell his pupils that certain important words in the 
lesson in the original language are so and so, and 
are found so many times with these different usages 
and meanings. It also shows the pupil that the 
study of the Bible involves careful and scientific meth- 
ods. However, even in the English language much 
valuable investigation can be carried on in word 
studies. With the help of a carefully analyzed con- 
cordance to serve as a guide, one's studies will prove 
helpful and profitable. It must be remembered that 
these studies involve care, patience, and mental effort, 
but the results will more than repay the efforts. 

DEVOTIONAL 

The Bible School teacher needs to bring to his 
study of the Bible from the historical, literary, and 
word studies viewpoints, a devotional and reverent 
attitude. These studies will not only increase his 
knowledge of the Bible, but guide him intelligently 
in his devotional studies. This attitude the teacher 
always needs to manifest in his private study, in 
his public teaching, and in the guidance of his pupils. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE BIBLE SCHOOL ORGANIZED 

Church, School, and Pastor — The Superinten- 
dent — Vice- superintendent — Department Superin- 
tendents — Secretary — Treasurer — Librarian — 
Teachers* Meetings — Departments — The Elemen- 
tary Division: Cradle Roll; Beginners' Class; Pri- 
mary Department — Junior Class — Intermediate 
Department — Senior Department — Adult Depart- 
ment — Home Department — Missionary Depart- 
ment — Temperance Department — The Teacher 
Training Class, 

CHURCH, SCHOOL, AND PASTOR 

We live to-day in an era of organization. Our life 
is complex. It is a day of great achievement and 
triumph. Society needs the organizations which we 
have, and if we keep on developing in all phases of 
life as rapidly in the future as we have in the past, 
things will become even more complex, and in conse- 
quence we shall need more perfect organization in 
order to meet the demands of the times. 

On account of this complexity of life, the church, 
through her organized work, holds the key to the 
uplifting of society to higher realms of usefulness 
and consecrated living. The church, through the 
Sunday School wields tremendous influence and power 

234 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 235 

for righteousness and spiritual uplift. The church 
has caught the spirit of the times and is organizing 
its forces in a systematic, businesslike way in order 
to become more useful and helpful in carrying on the 
work of the Christ. 

The Bible School is the church's golden opportun- 
ity for service, for it determines in large measure 
what the church of the future shall be. The church 
itself of necessity must bear a vital living relation 
to this strong-arm organization. 

We must not get the erroneous belief that the Bi- 
ble School is the church. The church is a heaven- 
born institution, the Bible School is a product of the 
human mind. The ideals, principles, and purposes 
of the church are found in the Bible School. But 
the writer believes that the Bible School was organ- 
ized by the direction of the Holy Spirit, and the 
church needs the Bible School as it needs the church. 
Through organized work large things can be accom- 
plished, and the church should see that through the 
Bible School great things are accomplished for Christ. 

That results may be properly achieved very much 
depends upon the individuality and personality of 
leadership. This is true in secular affairs, and it 
is a fact in religious life. The pastor is naturally, 
because of his position in the church, looked upon as 
the leader. The chief duty of every minister is to 
preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, but there are 
many duties devolving upon him because of his lead- 
ership. His work as pastor and leader is varied, 
and there are times when it seems as though there 
is so much to be done that the question arises, How 
can he do it? It is impossible for the pastor to give 



2&6 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

all his time and energy to every organization and 
society connected with the church. 

However, it seems to me that every pastor should 
give all the time, energy, and devotion to his Bible 
School that his pulpit and pastoral duties will allow. 
He should be the real leader of the school. To be 
the leader of the school it is not necessary for him 
to be the superintendent. A pastor should make it 
a point to be present at the opening of the school 
and take part in the service. It is a good thing to be 
present before the service begins in order to greet 
strangers and members. It is the testimony of hun- 
dreds of Sunday School workers that when the pastor 
greets the stranger and member they feel at home 
and welcome. When the members of the school know 
that their pastor is to be present before the school 
begins, they will strive to be on time to be greeted by 
his smile, word of welcome, and his hand-shake. The 
shake of the hand may seem to be of little importance, 
yet by it coldness and formality are taken away. 

The pastor's presence is an inspiration to the 
school. The members realize that he is not only in- 
terested in the school, but his presence shows that he 
has the welfare and progress of the school at heart. 
His presence strengthens his leadership and his in- 
fluence over the scholars. 

The pastor should seek to know the name of every 
pupil, both old and young. The Bible School, he 
should realize, offers a recruiting place for future 
members of his church. A church which has a flour- 
ishing and thriving Bible School has a wonderful 
future before it. From the ranks of the young people 
the pastor is able to get members for his cate- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 237 

chetical class. When he knows their names and 
something about their ambitions and plans, he is able 
to exercise more influence over them and to win them 
more easily to Christ. Every teacher who has a 
class of young people should endeavor to get them 
to go to catechetical instruction. Church member- 
ship in the highest sense and purpose should ever 
be held up before the Bible School pupil ; " For Christ 
and the church " should be the ideal of young and 
old. 

THE SUPERINTENDENT 

The world has only known one ideal man in its 
history, and he was Jesus Christ the Lord. The true 
individuals in the world make him their perfect ex- 
ample in every way and strive to have his image im- 
printed on their hearts and minds. No church 
worker or Bible School leader should have any other 
ideal before him. 

The Bible School superintendent holds a very im- 
portant position in that organization. It is a diffi- 
cult thing to conceive of an ideal superintendent, 
just as it is to think of anything else being perfect 
in this earth-life. However, the superintendent 
should say with Paul, " I press on toward the goal 
unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus." 

When we speak of an ideal superintendent we think 
of certain requisites which make up that ideal. More- 
over, every superintendent should try to live up to 
an ideal in order to be more efficient in the discharge 
of his duties. 

(1) The ideal superintendent should be a true 



238 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

leader. The office he holds is a responsible one. The 
scholars look up to him and respect him because he 
is superintendent. As a leader he should be prompt 
in the opening of the school. He should conduct 
the service in a quiet, unassuming, and yet dignified 
manner, realizing that he is dealing with sacred 
things, and that any hap-hazard way will not do. 
Every portion of the service should have its proper 
time and place. 

As leader he should have excellent order in the 
school. There should be no commotion. He should 
not allow pupils to leave their classes or the room 
at will; they must know that God is to be rever- 
enced in the Bible School as in the church. He 
should be a man who can do things. It is not nec- 
essary for him to be an excellent talker or speaker. 
The hour of teaching is the time when the lesson 
truths are to be impressed. If the superintendent 
desires to impress certain truths, he should do it con- 
cisely and in two or three minutes. 

As leader of the school he should not be required 
to teach, but he should oversee and listen during the 
hour of study in order that he may know what is 
going on. If he discovers that a teacher is not un- 
folding the truth properly, at the next teachers' 
meeting he should unfold and explain how those truths 
may be presented. 

(2) Congeniality is a necessary requisite for a 
successful superintendent. He should be on hand 
at an early hour to greet the pupils and visitors. If 
the school is large he should have a number of assis- 
tants who will help him. As he goes in and out be- 
fore his pupils he should show a " sunny " disposi- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 239 

tion, an appreciative spirit, and a sympathetic heart. 
He should realize that as leader of the Bible School 
the pupils are virtually parishioners of his. He 
should know all about the family life and environment 
of each pupil, and by love and sympathy should en- 
courage and help them. As superintendent he should 
call upon his pupils and welcome them to his home. 
Congeniality and love work wonders in winning souls 
to Christ. 

(3) Every superintendent should realize the ne- 
cessity of having system in all his Bible School work. 
The world has advanced to-day to great efficiency in 
all lines of progress as the result of system and or- 
ganization. The Lord Jesus Christ had system and 
organization, and hence the secret of His great suc- 
cess. The superintendent who is full of life will 
have system in all his activities. He will read and 
study carefully the latest literature on methods of 
improvement. A superintendent who is dead to ac- 
tivity, who is satisfied to go along in the old rut, and 
who downs organization, progress, and system is a 
stumbling-block to Bible School work. On the other 
hand, the one who is energetic, earnest, and progres- 
sive will have teachers' and executive meetings that 
greater things may be accomplished. The systematic 
superintendent will take pride in his school, which 
can do things properly and well. , He will gladly 
observe the special and benevolent days of the school 
and church. He will want to see the school give lib- 
erally and educationally. Every superintendent can 
make system his great helper in achieving success by 
using methods adaptable to the needs of his school. 

(4) The ideal superintendent will be his pastor's 



240 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

right hand man. The superintendent should stand 
very close to his pastor, and consult with him fre- 
quently. He should be anxious to have his pastor's 
advice and help in the administration of the school. 
He should uphold the arm of his pastor in many 
ways. He should keep a careful watch over the 
spiritual welfare of his pupils, and if there are any 
who are wayward among them, should ask his pastor's 
help. He should report to his pastor all who are 
eligible for the church, and constantly impress upon 
his scholars the necessity of uniting with the church. 
(5) The most important requisite for the ideal 
superintendent is the spirit of consecration to his 
work. A superintendent cannot discharge his duties 
faithfully and efficiently who is not consecrated to his 
Christ and his church in thought, word, and deed. 

VICE-SUPERINTENDENT 

In each school there should be at least one vice- 
superintendent to assist the superintendent. If the 
school is very large there should be several associate 
superintendents. The particular duties of this of- 
ficer should be to supply new teachers, or to provide 
substitute teachers when regular teachers are absent, 
and to assign new pupils to their particular classes. 

DEPARTMENTAL SUPERINTENDENTS 

There should be departmental superintendents for 
each of the following departments, — the cradle roll, 
beginners, primary, junior, intermediate, senior, 
adult, home, missionary, and temperance. These of- 
ficers will have as their duties what their particular 
departments may require. As its head, each should 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 241 

be held responsible for the success and growth of 
his special department. 

SECRETARY 

There should be a secretary, and he should be given 
as many assistants as the duties of the school re- 
quire. His duties consist in the main in the keeping 
of records as follows : records of attendance of teach- 
ers and pupils, records of new teachers, new pupils, 
changes of address, illness, removal, dismissal from 
membership, etc. These records are very vital for 
the growth and development of the school. They 
may seem trivial, but in point of fact they form a 
most important part of the life of the organized 
school. It is only in proportion as the secretary is 
efficient, careful, and conscientious in his records, 
that accuracy will result. Every school should be 
provided with a card system which is up to date and 
complete, in order that the records may be filed in a 
systemmatic and orderly way. 

TREASURER 

Every school should have a treasurer, who should 
keep an accurate record of all receipts from collec- 
tions, etc., and expenditures, and who should make 
report on the status of the treasury at regular in- 
tervals. He should report the amount of the Bible 
School collections each week, and have the same 
posted on the record board with the attendance. 
The treasurer should aim to see that the best financial 
methods are used by the school. For example, it 
would be a good plan, as is done in many schools, to 
have an envelope to be used by each pupil week by 



242 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

week, one side for the regular current expense, and 
the other for benevolence. Such a plan would prove 
helpful for any school. 

LIBRARIAN 

Another important office is that filled by the li- 
brarian. He should be empowered to choose the 
number of assistants he may require. In these days, 
when almost every little town boasts of some kind 
of a public library, the Bible School library should 
be filled with books which will be particularly helpful 
to the teachers and pupils in the Bible School work. 
There should be found there books dealing with such 
subjects as religious education, Bible School lessons, 
organization, missions, reports, religious encyclo- 
pedias, etc. These works should be read in order 
that careful intensive study and research may be done 
by teachers and pupils. 

TEACHERS' MEETINGS 

These meetings should be held regularly and at 
stated intervals. Concerning these meetings Mr. 
Lawrance has well said : " Failure to fully compre- 
hend its design and importance is the reason for the 
common apathy to be found in many places concern- 
ing the teachers' meeting. No superintendent who 
fully realizes its real purpose and value will willingly 
do without it. First, let me say that the name is 
in some respects a handicap. The true teachers' 
meeting is no more exclusively for the teachers than it 
is for the officers. . . . Its intent is to aid all those 
who have anything to do with the management of the 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 243 

Sunday School, whether officers, teachers, or assis- 
tants of any kind. 

" The teachers' meeting, however, will enable the 
teachers and workers to assist one another, by giv- 
ing to each one the benefit of the study and ideas of 
all. It will tend to unify the teaching in the school, 
and this is important. There should be ample time 
given, also, for the consideration of anything re- 
garding the management of the school, including 
the duties of all the officers. Discussions concern- 
ing the grading of the school, the library, the prepar- 
ations for Christmas, Easter, and similar seasons, 
and, indeed, anything else which has to do with the 
welfare of the school, are as appropriate at the teach- 
ers' meeting as is the treatment of the lesson. Help 
should be rendered where help is needed, and when 
all the officers, as well as the teachers, understand 
that they will all get something at the teachers' meet- 
ing which will help them in their particular work, 
they will be likely to attend. The teachers' meeting 
enables the school to concentrate its endeavor to 
the strengthening of the weak places." * 

DEPARTMENTS 

Within recent years the Bible School has made 
good progress towards departmental grading. How- 
ever, the problem of achieving greater efficiency and 
development is by no means solved. Many schools 
are handicapped because a proper building is lack- 
ing. Of course, the ideal is to have a separate room 

iLawrance: How to Conduct a Sunday School, pages 98 
and 99. 



244 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

for each class, and while this is not always possi- 
ble, every school should work toward this end. 

The next problems are to secure more regular at- 
tendance upon the session, to create a more intelli- 
gent appreciation on the part of parents of their 
responsibility in this matter, and to secure better 
trained teachers in order that instruction may be 
carried on more efficiently. 

The departments should be organized as follows : 

THE ELEMENTARY DIVISION 

The elementary division includes the following de- 
partments : 

CRADLE ROLL 

The cradle roll includes all children from birth 
to three years of age. The object is to enroll all 
children as members of the school who are too young 
to attend the sessions. This department brings the 
home under the fostering care of the church. 

beginners' class 
This department includes children who are four 
and five years of age. At this age it is necessary to 
have the little ones in a class apart by themselves 
if any teaching worth while is to be accomplished. 

PRIMARY DEPARTMENT 

The children of six, seven, and eight years of age 
are included in this department. This is the age 
when the brain and body grow more rapidly than 
at any other time of life. It is a time of life when 
they have many new experiences, such as school life, 
etc. The teaching needs to be carried on with ex- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 245 

treme care at this impressionable age, so that the 
proper concepts are formed, and consequently it must 
be particularly adapted to this era of their experi- 
ence. They, too, should be separated from the 
other children. 

JUNIOR CLASS 

This class includes the children who are nine, ten, 
eleven, and twelve years of age. It is only within 
recent years that the children of this age have been 
given careful study and consideration by the Bible 
Schools. Heretofore they were held in the primary 
departments, or sent into the adult schools and 
treated as older pupils. In either place they were 
misfits. When the junior class was organized, they 
came into their own department, for which they were 
adapted. In this period large numbers came to a 
decision for Christ, and in order to help the teach- 
ing a separate class room is very necessary. 

INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT 

This department includes the pupils from thirteen 
to sixteen years of age. 

SENIOR DEPARTMENT 

In this department pupils from seventeen to 
twenty years of age are enrolled. One of the great 
problems confronting the Bible School is to hold the 
pupils as regular attendants when they reach the 
intermediate and senior ages. Then is the time 
when they think they are too old to attend. They 
feel they have learned all that the school can teach 
them. 



M6 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

In order to meet this problem it would be well to 
have distinctive Bible classes composed of the pupils 
of these departments, from the ages of thirteen to 
twenty. Organizations, fraternities, clubs, and 
classes appeal to these ages and form a large part of 
their life. The pupils delight in social fellowship 
and friendship. They are full of life, energy, and 
activity, and they are made to utilize this energy if 
properly directed. However, organizations without 
distinctive object will be of no use or help. There 
need to be distinctive objects for which they may 
work. The objectives for such classes, as suggested 
by the International Sunday School Association, are 
the following: (1) The winning of the class mem- 
bers to personal allegiance to Jesus Christ as Sa- 
vior and Lord; and (2) The proper expression of 
the Christian life in service for others in the name 
and spirit of the Christ. Thus one strengthens 
one's self and helps others. 

These organizations, properly directed and con- 
trolled by strong, consecrated teachers, may become 
vital powers for the church and school. There 
should be officers and committees to insure careful 
work and growth. The following program and dia- 
gram prepared by the International Association will 
be found to be workable and apropos: 

u The conscientious Christian leader will keep in 
mind his or her obligation to the individual members 
of the class. By reading and study he or she will 
become acquainted with the characteristics of the 
teen-age life, with a view to planning such activities 
for both the Sunday and the mid-week session as will 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 



247 



eventually result in the development of stalwart 
Christian manhood and womanhood." 



ORGANIZATION 



OFFICERS 

.1 
*President 

*Vice-President 

* Secretary 

^Treasurer 

fTeacher 



COMMITTEES 

Athletic 

Social 

Membership 

Program 

Etc. 



CLASS MEETING 



Sunday Session 

I 

Opening services 

Class lesson 

Discussion of through- 

the-week activities 
Closing services 



Through-the-week ses- 
sion 

I 

Determined by activity 

I . 

Activity committee in 
charge 



RANGE OF CLASS ACTIVITIES 



r i i 1 1 

Physical Mental Social Spiritual Service 

* Older Boy or Girl 
t Adult 



24*8 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

ADULT DEPARTMENT 

One of the great problems before the churches and 
Bible Schools at present is, how to interest the men 
sufficiently so that they will attend religious services 
more regularly and come in large numbers. In order 
to get the men of the country, town, and city, various 
movements have been started, such as the brother- 
hood and adult Bible classes. These classes should 
include men from twenty years of age and upward. 
Classes for women should also be organized on the 
same plan in order to make their work more effec- 
tive. The class should have at least the following 
officers : a teacher, a president, a vice-president, a 
secretary, and a treasurer. There should also be 
at least four standing committees as follows : mem- 
bership, social, devotional, missionary. These move- 
ments hold out high ideals, lofty purposes, and splen- 
did opportunities for the men of each community, but 
any organization which has an elaborate propaganda 
simply written on paper has already written its last 
will and testament. If we want men for these or- 
ganizations in order to bring them into the church 
and Bible School, there must be more effort and self- 
sacrifice. There must be : 

(1) Personal Work. In each Bible school we al- 
ways find a small band of men who are intensely in- 
terested in the work, and we can always count on 
them for any active work to be done. Personal work 
on the part of each man will bring another man to 
the Bible School. On the whole men are not in- 
different to the church ; when asked to come, they say 
they think they are not welcome is the reason they 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 249 

have not before done so. One man said, " The 
church is a woman's club." The church could not 
do without the noble women. They are active in 
all departments of church work, and they serve the 
church faithfully, but the men on the whole are the 
ones who support the church, although they may not 
attend very regularly. Nevertheless, to show that 
man that the church is not a woman's club, and that 
a man's work is to be done, it is necessary to have him 
attend the Bible School and church. Each man won 
for Christ should be a personal worker. If we want 
men for the kingdom of God we must win them 
through consecrated personal work. 

(2) Sociability. A strong factor to be cultivated 
among men is the spirit of sociability. Each man is 
a social entity. He wants friendship and comrade- 
ship. As men come to the Bible School each one 
should be given a strong, hearty hand-shake, and 
made to feel that he is welcome. When a man feels 
that the church is a true church home to him, he will 
gladly attend and become vitally interested in its wel- 
fare. If he becomes sick or indifferent and his 
friends of the church look after him, he will realize 
that he has a church home in deed and in truth. 

(3) The uplifted Christ. " If I be lifted up from 
the earth, I will draw all men unto myself." To get 
men into the church and Bible School simply to have 
them there means nothing. All personal and social 
work must have one given end, namely, the bringing 
of men to the uplifted Christ, One man said recently, 
that he did not want to hear political, current, or 
scientific truths taught and expounded in the Bible 
School and church; what he wanted to hear was the 



250 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

story of the uplifted Christ taught plainly and con- 
vincingly. Once the story of the Christ becomes the 
vital part of a man's life, he will be a true personal 
worker and seeker after men. We want true, loyal, 
devoted Christian men to bring their fellow-men to 
the uplifted Christ. 

HOME DEPARTMENT 

The home department includes all those persons 
who are unable to attend, or for some reason cannot 
engage in the active work of the school. However, 
the plan is to get these same people to study the Bible 
School lesson at home for a period of at least one-half 
hour each week. From this department large num- 
bers have eventually been enrolled as active members 
of the school. At the present time considerable home 
department literature is published which helps to 
advance the work and interest in the Bible School. 

MISSIONARY DEPARTMENT 

This department is not common to all schools, but 
is found in a large number of them. The purpose 
of the department is to promote missionary educa- 
tion in the Bible School. There should be a stand- 
ing missionary committee whose work it should be to 
see that an adequate missionary library is established, 
that maps, charts, pictures, curios are provided, and 
that missionaries are invited to speak to the school 
occasionally, distributing literature to teachers and 
pupils, etc. There should be an occasional confer- 
ence of the teachers' association with the committee 
to arrange for adequate teaching of missions in the 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 251 

classes. The work of the department is to advance 
the cause of missions along all lines. 

TEMPERANCE DEPARTMENT 

This department is likewise not common to all 
schools, but it is found in a large number. There 
is need for a temperance department in every school. 
There should be a temperance committee with a repre- 
sentative from each department of the school. The 
aim is to show through educational work what temper- 
ance is. There should be a well selected temperance 
library, maps, charts, etc., which will help to achieve 
the desired results. There should be a regular time 
for temperance teaching, and the days set aside for 
this purpose should be observed by special exercises. 
The graded lesson of the junior and intermediate 
series offers excellent material for temperance studies. 

THE TEACHER TRAINING CLASS 

A most essential department of the school is the 
teacher training class. The time is here when 
trained teachers are needed as never before. If the 
Bible School is to be the splendid, efficient religious 
educational institution that it should be, then trained 
teachers are absolutely necessary. There are good 
courses and books published in large numbers, so 
that the list is large from which selection may be 
made. The class should be composed of the officers 
of the school, present teachers, and prospective 
teachers. Those who are teachers should take ad- 
vanced work in order to have a more intensive knowl- 
edge of their great work. Prospective teachers need 



252 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

this course of training in order to do their work as 
teachers well and efficiently. The time is not far dis- 
tant when every teacher must be a trained teacher. 
The day cannot come too speedily. The work of the 
kingdom demands it. 



CHAPTER XVI 

ORDER 

Punctuality — Ventilation — : Arrangement — 
Music — Busyness — Obedience — Interest — At- 
tention, 

One of the criticisms most commonly heard of the 
Bible School is, that there is so much disorder and 
confusion. When this spirit prevails the entire 
school suffers. There is lack of reverence and wor- 
ship in the opening service; there is no sincerity in 
the reading of the Word; the time for study of the 
lesson is lost ; in fact, the whole period has been a 
failure. Naturally a question pertinent to the occa- 
sion is frequently asked : If order and control is ob- 
tained in the public schools, why should not the same 
control be found in our Bible Schools? This seems 
to be as far as the discussion is carried. Of all 
places, it is in the Bible School that we should expect 
to find order, control, and discipline manifested in a 
high degree. These things are necessary and con- 
ducive to worship, reverence, and study. 

In order to secure and maintain good order, we be- 
lieve the following suggestions will be helpful. 

PUNCTUALITY 

We remembered having attended a large Bible 

School where one of the things first noticed was the 

253 



254 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

disorder and apparent lack of control. It took only 
a moment to understand the situation. The cause of 
the trouble was in large measure due to the methods 
pursued by the superintendent. Several of the of- 
ficers were not at their desks, and he was hurrying to 
and fro, endeavoring to do some of their work that 
the school might begin its session. He was exactly 
one-quarter of an hour late in opening the school. 
When he tried to start, so great was the noise and 
confusion that he was compelled to tap the bell sev- 
eral times before any sort of order was restored. He 
consumed at least five minutes more in this manner, 
and then the order was far from being satisfactory. 

All of this confusion and wasting of precious time 
could have been avoided if the superintendent had in- 
sisted on punctuality. Not only were the officers 
dilatory, but many of the teachers were late in join- 
ing their classes, and in the meantime the pupils did 
pretty much as they pleased. 

When the hour arrives for the school to open, the 
superintendent should set the example and begin ex- 
actly on time. He should also be present some time 
before the school opens so as to see that everything 
is in readiness for the opening time. It is not the 
business of the superintendent to do the duties of a 
dozen officers, but it is his duty to oversee them, and 
to see that all things are carried on in an orderly and 
systematic manner. He has the right to insist that 
the corps of officers and teachers shall attend to their 
duties on time. In these requirements he should be 
heartily supported by the Bible School association or 
official board of the church, as the case may be. 

Tardiness of teachers contributes much to dis- 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 255 

order. If left alone, the pupils in the classes are per- 
mitted to follow pretty much their own devices, and 
the more active ones are going to take advantage of 
the opportunity to play tricks and get into mischief. 
The presence of the teacher in the class will mean 
holding this superfluous energy and activity in check 
and under control. In fact the teacher should be 
found in his class section before his pupils arrive, so 
that he will be there to greet them when they come. 
It will mean that a larger number of pupils will be 
prompt in coming to school. 

One of the great lessons that our public schools 
have taught us is the principle of being on time. The 
school begins promptly at nine o'clock in the morn- 
ing, not one minute before or one minute after. This 
principle has become deeply ingrained in the life of 
our American people. The same standard should be 
observed by our Bible Schools, and punctuality on the 
part of the officers of the school, and insistence that 
this rule be observed, will go a long way toward solv- 
ing this problem. The superintendent does not have 
the same authority to enforce obedience that the pub- 
lic school principal has, but he has the moral author- 
ity and the support of his associates, and a principle 
inherently right, which will command obedience. 

If promptness is insisted upon, pupils will not be 
so apt to be late and hence to break into the worship- 
ful spirit of the opening service. No superintendent 
should be required to waste five minutes in securing 
order. His attitude, manner, yes, his personality 
should show that he expects to get just exactly what 
he has requested. By this we mean not the mani- 
festation of a domineering or dictatorial spirit, but 



256 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the manifestation of the quiet, dignified manner of 
the forceful, influential personality which should be- 
token the executive officer. One or two taps of the 
bell, as the case may be, or whatever plan may be 
in vogue to call the school to order, should be suffi- 
cient. 

The beginning on time and being on time will help 
in large measure to solve the problem of disorder in 
any school. 

VENTILATION 

One of the least thought of problems in the con- 
struction of a church or Bible School department is 
air. Very frequently in the architectural plans, 
beauty, acoustic properties, etc., are carefully 
wrought out, but the ventilation plan is given no 
consideration at all. The architect will probably 
suggest the necessity of good ventilation, but the 
building committee, knowing, perhaps, that they have 
only a limited amount of money to spend and desiring 
to see the interior beautifully decorated, will sacri- 
fice the law of ventilation for the beautiful. This 
foul air causes unrest, drowsiness, and lack of inter- 
est. Many a time a congregation seems sleepy and 
drowsy when the pastor preaches. The sermon is 
good and the delivery forcible and clear ; the air is at 
fault. Not infrequently a Bible School teacher is 
almost at his wit's end to keep his pupils interested, 
awake, and in order during the lesson period because 
of the foul air of the room, which affects the pupils 
in the ways mentioned. It pays in terms of order, 
character, and service for Bible School rooms to be 
thoroughly ventilated along scientific lines. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 257 

ARRANGEMENT 

One of the difficult problems of the average, ordi- 
nary Bible School is arrangement. Of course the 
ideal Bible School has a class room for each class, but 
the majority of Bible School class rooms consist of 
two or three parts, — perhaps one or two sections for 
the primary department and the other section to in- 
clude all other departments. It is at once seen that 
this arrangement is unpedagogic. It spells disorder. 
Since this is the problem which confronts the major 
portion of schools, the plan to follow is to seek the 
best solution for such circumstances. 

Where the classes are grouped together in more 
or less crowded condition it means that those classes 
must be grouped carefully in order to reduce noise 
and confusion to the minimum. For example, it will 
not do to place two classes of mischievous boys in 
close proximity; there must be several classes inter- 
vening. The classes should be arranged rectangu- 
larly, as this will economize the floor space. The 
classes should not be too large, perhaps not more 
than eight pupils or ten to a class at the most, 
so that the teacher can preserve better order and ac- 
complish better results in his teaching. 

A visitor at a Bible School was once asked by the 
superintendent what plan he would suggest for ob- 
taining better order. After observing the school in 
its departments, he answered, " Begin at the primary 
department." The visitor had noticed that the little 
children were permitted to move about as they 
pleased and do about as they wanted to. The ac- 
tive life and energy there were not properly con- 



258 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

trolled and directed. However, he did not go to 
the source of the problem. He should have answered, 
" Begin at the home." Here is the place to begin 
to teach order, system, and careful habits. The 
home can lay the foundations and teach these prin- 
ciples. The school should be saved this to a large 
extent. To promote good order we need the care- 
ful cooperation of the home, instead of its indiffer- 
ence. 

MUSIC 

Another essential feature in a well ordered school 
is the music. There is a vast difference between 
jingle and music. The very best kind of music 
only should be found in the school. There is so 
much meaningless stuff, printed under the name of 
good music, which is only jingles. There is no in- 
spiration to be found in words or tune. Music which 
causes the feet to move and the body to sway should 
be avoided in the Bible School service. This is char- 
acteristic of the jingle stuff and is but another 
means of adding to the disorder of the school life. 
For example, we have not infrequently seen boys dur- 
ing the reading of the lesson and recitation period 
hum one of these catchy songs, and keep time by 
moving their arms and swaying their bodies and 
stamping with their feet, much to the amusement of 
the other pupils and the annoyance of the teacher. 
Such antics not only added to the disorder of the 
school, but at the same time prevented serious study 
of the Word. We need bright music in the school, 
but worshipful, inspirational, and dignified music 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 259 

which will instill within the soul the spirit of rever- 
ence. The Bible School is no place for excerpts from 
the opera or for jingles. 

BUSY-NESS 

That order may be preserved. Professor Adams 
urges that the pupils be kept busy. He says, " We 
are all familiar with Watt's remarks about the con- 
nection between Satan and idle hands, but teachers 
ought not only to know the lines, but to realize all 
that is implied in them. . . . The teacher who does all 
the preparation, all the thinking, and all the speak- 
ing, is in a fair way to ruin the discipline of even a 
good and well-disposed class." x 

The teacher who is successful in Bible School work 
is the one who will keep his pupils' minds busy. 
This word spells destruction to the plans of the 
tricky and mischievous pupil. The teacher who has 
carefully planned and prepared his lesson will have 
in mind his class as a whole and at the same time the 
individuals who comprise it. He will seek to make 
his preparation suitable and his teachings adaptable 
to each pupil's needs. He will plan his questions 
along this line in order to bring out the answers 
to meet this need. 

By properly seating the pupils, carefully putting 
the mischievous ones immediately before him where 
he can always have his eye upon them, and by con- 
tinually asking questions, he will keep each one busy, 
and the opportunities for creating disorder will be 
reduced to a minimum. Each pupil will be inter- 

i Adams ; Q>r Teaching, page 50, 



260 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

ested, and by careful guidance each moment will be 
occupied, and valuable time will not be lost or the 
teaching seem to have been in vain. 

OBEDIENCE 

Obedience is also necessary. This is essential for 
the general welfare of the Bible School. The 
teacher should insist upon being obeyed in his re- 
quests and in the fulfillment of the requirements of 
the school. In making such requests the teacher as 
well as all the officers must set the example. There 
are always some pupils who have no regard at all 
for rules and orderly procedure. They seem to take 
delight in breaking every command. With such it 
is necessary to deal firmly. There will be times when 
they try patience and temper, but it will not do to 
show anger in dealing with them ; tact, good-humor, 
and firmness are requisite to handling the situation. 
They will not respond to anger and the display of 
hot-tempered action. The controlling influence of 
the teacher will predominate when the pupil sees 
that there is no indecision in his manner and atti- 
tude. Child nature is readily moulded into obedient 
action when approached from the proper angle. 

There are times when good cheer will bring order 
out of chaos when every other plan would fail. It 
is well for the teacher to be able to see a little joke, 
and frequently a little laugh will dispel the clouds of 
disobedience. Rev. Drawbridge says : 

" The management of a restive class and the con- 
trol of a fresh horse have many points of resemblance. 
In each a gentlewoman's hand can often achieve what 
no display of force and violence would ever accom^ 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 261 

plish. The latter may drive in the symptoms of un- 
rest and disorder, the former alone can win over the 
spirit and the will, and secure the desired disposition. 
Children prefer order, if they are managed with pa- 
tience, knowledge, and tact, but if the restive horse 
or child once gets out of hand, it is very difficult to 
undo the mischief which has resulted from one's 
weakness." x 

INTEREST 

So important is the maintenance of good order 
that interest is dependent upon it. The converse is 
also true. Some teachers are able by their presence 
and manner to secure order and interest ; with others 
it requires effort and labor; but each teacher will 
have some degree of success by maintaining good 
order and understanding each pupil's peculiarities 
and how to interest him in the instruction given. 

The child has nature interests which can be ap- 
pealed to, drawn out, and developed by objective, 
experimental, and reminiscent teaching. Then show- 
ing him some relation between his nature interests 
and new objects, his interest in those new objects 
will gradually increase. 

Dr. James says : " The kindergarten methods, 
the object-teaching rountine, the black-board, and 
manual training work — all recognize this feature. 
Schools in which these methods preponderate are 
schools where discipline is easy, and where the voice 
of the master claiming order and attention in threat- 
ening tones need never be heard. 

" Next, step by step, connect with these first ob- 
i Drawbridge: Training of the Twig, pages 161 and 162. 



262 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

jects and experiences the later objects and ideas 
which you wish to instill. Associate the new with 
the old in some natural and telling way, so that the 
interest, being shed along from point to point, 
finally suffuses the entire system of objects of 
thought." 1 

Of course this is the ideal method, but successful 
teaching will result where earnest preparation of 
the lesson is made the teacher's rule. He will seek 
to adopt such plans in his teaching that each pupil 
will be interested. 

ATTENTION 

Attention on the part of the pupils is alike depend- 
ent upon good order and interest. It is essential, 
too, for fruitful teaching. It is as Dr. James says: 
" If, then, you wish to insure the interest of your 
pupils, there is only one way to do it ; and that is to 
make certain that they have something in their minds 
to attend with when you begin to talk." 

One will note not infrequently the attention of chil- 
dren wandering during the lesson period. Some have 
a dreamy expression, minds of others seem wandering 
far away, perhaps thinking of baseball, etc., so that 
the problem of holding the attention is indeed a diffi- 
cult one. 

" However, by careful questioning and concrete 
teaching this can be overcome. The interest of the 
pupil is to be held step by step as the lesson is taught, 
and his attention will be focused upon it. Some 
pupils are less able to attend than others. It de- 
pends upon the individual's temperament. However, 

i James: Talks to Teachers, page 96. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 263 

variety of teaching only can accomplish permanent 
results where the interest is apt to lag and the mind 
to wander. By presenting the subject from various 
angles, attention to a considerable degree is bound 
to follow." 

Again quoting from Dr. James : " Above all 
things, make sure it (your teaching) shall run 
through certain minor changes, since no unvarying 
object can possibly hold the mental field for long. 
Let your pupil wander from one aspect to another 
of your subject if you do not wish him to wander 
from it altogether to something else, variety in unity 
being the secret of all interesting talk and thought." 1 



i James: Talks to Teachers, page 112. 



CHAPTER XVII 

GRADED LESSONS 

Uniform Lessons : Criticism — The Graded Les- 
sons: Adaptable; Educational; Permanent ; Biblkal 
— Promotion. 

UNIFORM LESSONS 

For more than four decades the International Les- 
son Committee has selected lessons for the entire 
Bible School. Each lesson is based on biblical pas- 
sages which are used by all the departments of the 
school. However, the writers, editors, and publish- 
ers of Bible School literature have tried to adopt 
lesson material which will do for all departments, 
from the elementary division to the adult department 
inclusive. 

CRITICISM 

The International Uniform Lessons have been in 
use for so many years that many people think they 
can never do without them. The lessons have ad- 
vanced Bible School work and Bible study as no other 
plan has ever done. They have developed a fraternal 
and cordial spirit and relationship among the vari- 
ous denominations. In other words, they have been 
in large measure instrumental in unifying Christian 
work. We believe that the International Uniform 

264 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 265 

Lessons were the best that could be developed at the 
time, but we believe that they are no longer meeting 
the need of the schools in an adequate or comprehen- 
sive manner or along educational lines. The criti- 
cism we have to offer of the lesson is as follows. 

The Uniform Lessons are based on too fragmentary 
selections of Scriptures. The texts are very fre- 
quently composed of a few verses in one chapter and 
several verses in another chapter. The number of 
verses selected is reduced to a minimum. In order 
to get the story of the lesson it is necessary to read 
several chapters. From our present experience we 
know that one of the weak points in Bible School 
work and efficiency is the lack of home study. For 
a child to be confronted with fragmentary texts on 
Sunday when no study has been done at home, means 
that interest in the lesson has already been lost. 
Children want the whole story before them ; they 
are not ready for and will not accept the part for 
the whole. Such arrangement is a preventative of 
consecutive Bible study. 

The lessons as they are selected disregard the 
pedagogical arrangement of the Bible. The Old 
Testament and New Testament are arranged peda- 
gogically. The Old Testament lessons are better 
suited for children up to fourteen years of age. The 
New Testament lessons are better adapted for adoles- 
cents and adults. 

The present system selects lessons for a time from 
the Old Testament and then from the New without 
regard to pedagogical treatment. It defeats the 
very purpose of the admirable arrangement of Old 
and New Testaments. 



266 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

The most serious objection to the lessons is that 
they are selected from the adult viewpoint. They 
fail on the whole to take into consideration the view- 
point of the child. On this point Dr. Haslett writes : 
" Adult conception, adult principles, adult doc- 
trines, truths, methods, requirements, and needs are 
stamped upon it from first to last. It would seem 
that the child is taken to be a small adult, an adult 
in miniature, the fallacy of which notion Dr. Nathan 
Oppenheim clearly showed a few years ago when 
his book, ' The Development of the Child,' appeared. 
It is not true, to say the least, that any or all truths 
interesting to the adult mind may be made interest- 
ing to the child by merely simplifying the method of 
instruction or of presentation. Many truths have 
no interest, no meaning, and no fascination for the 
child. They are far beyond his power of conception 
or ability to grasp. Nothing to which they appeal 
is in his mind, nature, or need. To judge the child 
mind by adult modes of thought, interest, and needs, 
and to provide for his religious instruction accord- 
ingly, is sinning against the best light of modern 
educational practice, against the child, against na- 
ture — which is our safest guide as to the condition 
and need of the child, as it is sinning against Holy 
Writ and against the great Teacher's example and 
admonitions. No public schoolmaster would place 
compound interest, compound proportion, arbitra- 
tion of exchange, geometry, algebra, Latin, calculus 
and the like, in a curriculum of study for children 
six, seven, eight or nine years of age. They would 
quickly be called to account if they should do it." l 

i Haslett: Pedagogical Bible School, p. 56. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 267 

THE GRADED LESSONS 

In order to meet these criticisms and demands from 
pastors, superintendents, teachers, and others inter- 
ested in Bible School, the International Association 
authorized the lesson committee to prepare the new 
graded lesson. 

At the convention of the International Sunday 
School Association, which was held at Louisville, 
Kentucky, June 18-23, 1908, the lesson committee 
made a report and recommendation concerning 
graded lessons which was adopted and from which 
we quote as follows : 

" A new situation has been gradually brought 
about: (a) by the action of the association in pro- 
viding for the Beginner's Course at its Denver Con- 
vention in 1902, and for the Advanced Course at 
its Toronto Convention in 1905 ; (b) by the action 
of the lesson committee in April, 1907, forming 
graded lessons; and (c) by the action of the con- 
ference between some members of the American les- 
son committee and the British lesson committee in 
London, 1907, and of the Boston Conference in Jan- 
uary, 1908. 

" That this convention (Louisville) authorize its 
lesson committee also to continue the preparation 
of a thoroughly graded course of lessons, which may 
be used by any Sunday School which desires it, 
whether in whole or in part." x 

The lessons are prepared to meet the demands of 
all grades. They are prepared and adapted to meet 

i Official Report 12th International Convention, pages 
512 and 513. 



268 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

the needs and peculiar rquirements of pupils of all 
ages, from the beginners, to, and including, the adult 
departments. 

Up to the present time the courses for the first 
twenty years of Bible School life are as follows : the 
beginners' series, complete in two years ; the primary 
series, complete in three years ; the junior series, com- 
plete in four years, the intermediate series, complete 
in four years; the senior series, complete in four 
years. 

The graded lessons differ from the uniform lessons 
in the following ways: 

ADAPTABLE 

The graded lessons are adaptable for each par- 
ticular age and period of the pupil's life. In other 
words, they may be termed progressive lessons. 
They proceed from the simpler to more advanced and 
complex truths. The lessons are closely graded and 
prepared and arranged to meet the knowledge and 
experience and growth of the individual. 

EDUCATIONAL 

These lessons are arranged and based on peda- 
gogical principles. They are not formed from the 
adult point of view. These lessons are comprehen- 
sive. That is, nature, temperance, and mission les- 
sons are found here which can be appreciated by 
the children. True instruction, experience and com- 
mon sense show us, must follow along pedagogical 
methods and principles. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 269 

PERMANENT 

These lessons are fixed or permanent. The uni- 
form lessons follow a six-year course with a new les- 
son for each Sunday of the new course for the year. 
Not so with the graded system. In this system it 
will be known what lesson for the Sunday will be 
used in the grade, and the teacher will know what 
results were achieved in the course of the year, and 
wherein he can profit by his mistakes. 

BIBLICAL 

The graded lessons cover more Bible material than 
the uniform lessons. As we have already mentioned, 
the uniform course covers six years, the graded sys- 
tem covers seventeen years, and it is only natural 
that in such a comprehensive course more biblical 
material can be studied. The child gets Bible truths 
which he can understand, and the same is true of 
each period of the individual life. 

PROMOTION 

The graded lessons present the opportunity for 
promotion, and put the process of promotion on a 
systematic basis. There is a definite end for each 
course of lessons. When the pupils have shown 
sufficient knowledge of the lesson taught and have 
done the memory work prescribed, then they will be 
ready to be promoted to the next grade. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

SUMMARY OF THE GRADED COURSES 

Introduction: Purpose of Graded Lessons — The 
Beginners' Graded Series : Aim of the Course — The 
Primary Graded Series: Aim of the Course — The 
Junior Graded Series: Aim of the Course — The In- 
termediate Graded Series: Aim of the Course — The 
Senior Series: Aim of the First Year; Outline of 
Material, First Year; Aims for the Second Year; 
Aim for Outline of Material, Second Year; Aim for 
the Third Year; Outlme of Material, Third Year — 
Adult Courses — The Future. 

INTRODUCTION 
PURPOSE OF GRADED LESSONS 

To meet the spiritual needs of the pupil in each 
stage of his development. 

These spiritual needs, broadly stated, are: 

(1) To know God as he has revealed himself to 
us in nature and in Christ. 

(£) To exercise toward God the Father, and His 
Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, trust, obedi- 
ence, and worship. 

(3) To know and do our duty to others. 

270 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 271 

(4*) To know and do our duty to ourselves. 

THE BEGINNERS' GRADED SERIES 

( Complete in two years ; approximate age of 
pupils, four and five years.) 

AIM OF THE COURSE 

To lead the little child to the Father by helping 
him. 

(1) To know God, the heavenly Father, who loves 
him, provides for, and protects him. 

(£) To know Jesus, the Son of God, who became 
a little child, who went about doing good, and who 
is the friend and Savior of little children. 

(3) To know about the heavenly home. 

(4) To distinguish between right and wrong. 

(5) To show his love for God by working with 
Him and for others. 

THE PRIMARY GRADED SERIES 

(Complete in three years; approximate age of 
pupils, six, seven, and eight years.) 

AIM OF THE COURSE 

To lead the child to know the heavenly Father, and 
to inspire within him a desire to live as God's child. 

(1) To show forth God's power, love, and care, 
and to awaken within the child responsive love, trust, 
and obedience. 

(2) To build upon the teachings of the first year 



21(2 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

(1) by showing ways in which children may express 
their love, trust, and obedience; (&) by showing 
Jesus the Savior in His love and work for men; and 
( 3 ) by showing how helpers of Jesus and others learn 
to do God's will. 

(3) To build upon the work of the first and sec- 
ond years by telling (1) about people who chose 
to do God's will; (2) Jesus, by His life and words, 
death and resurrection, revealed the Father's love 
and will for us ; (3) such stories as will make a strong 
appeal to the child and arouse within him a desire 
to choose and do that which God requires of him. 

THE JUNIOR GRADED SERIES 

(Complete in four years; approximate age of 
pupils, nine, ten, eleven and twelve years.) 

AIM OF THE COURSE 

(1) To awaken an interest in the Bible, and love 
for it; to deepen the impulse to choose and to do 
right. 

( 2 ) To present the ideal of moral heroism ; to re- 
veal the power and majesty of Jesus Christ, and to 
show his followers going forth in his strength to do 
his work. 

( 3 ) To deepen the sense of responsibility for right 
choices ; to show the consequences of right and wrong 
choices; to strengthen love of the right and hatred 
of the wrong. 

(4) To present Jesus as our example and Savior; 
to lead the pupil to appreciate his opportunities for 
service, and to give him a vision of what it means to 
be a Christian. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 273 

THE INTERMEDIATE GRADED SERIES 

( Complete m four years ; approximate age of 
pupils, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen years.) 

AIM OF THE COURSE 

To lead to the practical recognition of the duty 
and responsibility of personal Christian living, and 
to organize the conflicting impulses of life so as to 
develop habits of Christian service. 

The central aim of these biographical studies for 
the first and second years is religious and moral ; but 
the religious and moral emphasis in these studies will 
not lead to any neglect of the historical viewpoint, 
as these characters are generally makers of history 
and cannot be satisfactorily presented without the 
historical setting as a background. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, FIRST YEAR 

(1) Biographical Studies in the Old Testament. 

(2) The Christian Life Exemplified. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, SECOND YEAR 

( 1 ) Jesus the Leader of Men. 

(2) Companions of Jesus. 

(3) Early Christian Leaders. 

(4) Christian Characteristics, Illustrated in Nota- 
ble Christian Leaders. 

(5) Character-building, Illustrated in the Life 
and Work of Modern Heroes of Faith. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, THIRD YEAR 

(1) Jesus Entering Upon His Life-work. 

(2) Jesus in the Midst of Popularity. 



274 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

(3) Jesus Facing Opposition and Death. 

(4) Teaching of Jesus. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, FOURTH YEAR 

(1) What it Means to be a Christian. 
(£) Special Problems of Christian Living. 

(3) The Christian and the Church. 

(4) The Word of God in Life. 

THE SENIOR SERIES 

(To be completed in four years; approximate age 
of pupils, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty 
years.) 

AIM OF THE FIRST YEAR 

(1) To lead the pupil to see life in proper per- 
spective from the Christian point of view, and to 
aid him in finding his place and part in the world's 
work. 

(£) To lead the pupil, through frank confer- 
ences on himself, his limitations, and his relations to 
the kingdom of God, to a realization of the claims 
of Christ as Savior and Lord, and of his service as 
the true basis of successful living. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, FIRST YEAR 

(1) The World as a Field for Christian Service. 

(2) The Problems of Youth in Social Life. 

(3) The Book of Ruth. 

(4*) The Epistle of James. 

AIMS FOR THE SECOND YEAR 

(1) To awaken in young men and women a 
permanent interest in the development of religion 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION £75 

as reflected in the history and literature of the 
Hebrew people. 

(2) To relate the studies of this year to the per- 
sonal religious life of the individual student 

(a) by re-enforcing his sense of the presence of 
God in human history; 

(b) by emphasizing the ethical and social char- 
acter of religion; 

(c) by inspiring him with the sense of his per- 
sonal responsibility to know and to share God's 
purpose for the world. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, SECOND YEAR 

(1) Growth of Religious Ideas during the Rise 
of the Hebrew Nation. 

(2) Growth of Religious Ideas under the Hebrew 
Monarchies. 

(3) Growth of Religious Ideas in and after the 
Babylonian Exile. 

(4) Studies in Hebrew Religious Literature. 

AIM FOR THE THIRD YEAR 

To awaken in young people an abiding interest 
in the New Testament, an appreciation of its funda- 
mental importance to the Christian faith, and a real- 
ization of its practical value to them as a guide in 
Christian conduct. 

A rapid survey of the literature and history of 
New Testament times is taken. 

OUTLINE OF MATERIAL, THIRD YEAR 

(1) The Historical Background of Christianity. 

(2) The Early History of Christianity. 



276 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

(3) Christianity Established among the Gentiles. 

(4*) The Principles and Practice of the Gospel. 

(5) The Interpretation and Defense of Christian- 
ity. 

(6) The Apostolic Church a Brotherhood. 

ADULT COURSES 

From the manual recently published with respect 
to the introduction and use of the graded lessons we 
quote the following : " Up to the present time the 
International Graded Series does not include courses 
for adults. Until such courses are ready and an- 
nounced, the following courses are available. At- 
tention is called first to the courses prepared for 
adults as issued in the Adult Class Magazine pub- 
lished by the several denominations. Among the 
elective courses varying from thirteen to forty-two 
lessons are the following, which can be obtained 
through the publishers of this manual. 

" ' The Early Days of Israel,' by Irving F. Wood 
and Newton M. Hall, seeks to discover the main 
thought in the mind of the biblical writers with a 
view to emphasizing the religious truths and apply- 
ing the principles thus discovered to every day mod- 
ern life. 

" ' The Days of the Kings of Israel,' by Irving F. 
Wood and Newton M. Hall, is a study of the books 
recording the lives of the kings of Israel, and a 
detailed study of the character and reign of the in- 
dividual kings, the aim being to give a vivid picture 
of the times, the purpose of the writers of the books, 
and the relationship existing between their age and 
ours. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 277 

" ' The Liquor Problem.' This is a course of thir- 
teen lessons dealing with such phases of the liquor 
question as * The Magnitude and Seriousness of the 
Liquor Business,' ' Alcohol and Health,' * The Saloon 
and Politics,' ' Alcohol in the Light of Race Welfare,' 
' The Effect of Liquor Drinking upon Labor,' etc. 
The treatment of each lesson is thoroughly scientific 
— the plan being to present only well established 
facts. Practical suggestions for appropriate ac- 
tivities in harmony with the truths set forth in each 
lesson are given. 

"'The Introduction to the Life of Christ,' by 
William Bancroft Hill, is a simple yet scholarly, 
comprehensive treatment of the entire problem con- 
nected with the Gospels and their interpretation, and 
so presented that one unfamiliar with recent dis- 
cussion gains a clear idea of the questions involved, 
and of the attitude of leading scholars respecting 
their twelve lessons. 

" ' The Life of Jesus,' by George B. Stewart, is 
a study of the words and works of Jesus against the 
background of the Old Testament Messianic hope, 
and the custom, person, life, and teachings of the 
times of Jesus presented comparatively and supplied 
with questions and messages for to-day. Fifty les- 
sons. 

" ' The Making of a Nation,' by Charles Foster 
Kent and Jeremiah Whipper Jenks, is a series of 
twelve studies on the beginnings of Israel's history, 
dealing with specific events in their relationship to 
personal religious life and the social and political 
problems of to-day. 

" ' Studies in the Life of Christ,' ' The Social Sig- 



278 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

nificance of the Teachings of Jesus,' and similar 
courses have been prepared by the Young Men's 
Christian Association. These courses deal with the 
history of Bible characters whose teaching work is 
brought into the foreground. They are prepared 
with from twelve to thirty lessons, with a daily read- 
ing and practical exposition for each day. 

" * Constructive Bible Studies,' prepared by the 
Chicago University Press, provides for two kinds of 
classes — those who are preparing for the work of 
teaching, and those who are studying for their own 
personal profit." * 

THE FUTURE 

The graded lessons are here to stay. They will 
be the permanent curriculum of the Bible School. 
The present international graded system is not per- 
fect by any means; but the foundations have been 
laid, and the Bible School has taken a long stride 
in progressive pedagogical principles by adopting 
the present system. The systems of the future will 
be improved upon as experience may find it neces- 
sary. The start in the right direction has been 
made. 

The Bible School is becoming more and more a re- 
ligious educational institution, which it is to be as 
related to the church. 

i General Manual, Graded Lessons, pages 128, 129, 130. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Scope of Religious Education — History of Re- 
ligious Education — Studies in Psychology — Prep- 
aration and Teaching — The Bible School. 

A large number of reference books believed to be 
essential to the subject of religious education, are 
here mentioned. The list comprises the majority of 
the books consulted in the preparation of this volume : 

SCOPE OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

Lectures on Pedagogy, by Compayre. 

The Meaning of Education, by Butler — Macmil- 
lan. 

Personal and Ideal Elements in Education, by 
King. 

Foundations of Education, by Seeley — Hinds & 
Noble Company. 

Principles and Ideals for the Sunday School, by 
Burton — Chicago University Press. 

Educational Aims and Values, by Hannus — Mac- 
millan. 

Educational Aims and Methods, by Fitch — Mac- 
millan. 

My Pedagogic Creed, by Dewey — Kellogg & Com- 
pany. 

Religious Education, by Smith — Young Church- 
man Company. 

279 



280 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

Development of Religion and Thought in An- 
cient Egypt, by Breasted — Scribners. 

The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, by Rog- 
ers — Eaton & Mains. 

Religious Belief in Babylonia and Assyria, t>y 
Jastrow — Putnam. 

ScHoqL System of the Talmud, by Spiers — Elliot 
Stock, London. 

Buddhism, by Rhys-Davids — Putnam. 

Hinduism, by Professor Monier Williams — Society 
for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London. 

The Heart of India, by Barnett — John Murry, 
London. 

Ancient Monarchies, Vol. Ill, by Rawlinson — 
Cassino & Company. 

Schools of Hellas, by Freeman — Macmillan. 

Old Greek Education, by Mahaffy — Harpers. 

National Education in Greece, by Wilkins — 
Strahan & Company, London. 

Roman Education, by Wilkins — Cambridge Uni- 
versity Press. 

A History of Education, by Graves — Macmillan. 

Pre-Christian Education, by Laurie — Longmans. 

Text-book in the History of Education, by Mon- 
roe — Macmillan. 

The History of Pedagogy, by Compayre — Heath 
& Company. 

Primitive Christian Education, by Geraldine 
Hodgson — T. & T. Clark. 

Antiquities of Christian Church, by Bingham-— 
Bohn, London. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 281 

Schools of Charles the Great, by Mullinger — 
Longmans. 

History of Medieval Education, by Williams. 

History of Education, by Painter — Appleton. 

Educational Reformers, by Quick — Appleton. 

History of Sunday Schools, by Pray. 

First Fifty Years of the Sunday School, by Wat- 
son. 

Robert Raikes, by Gregory. 

The Day, the Book, and the Teacher, by 
Hood. 

The Sunday School in the Development of the 
American Church, by Michael — The Young 
Churchman Company. 

The Sunday School, by Trumbull — Sunday 
School Times Company. 

STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY 

Psychology, Vols. I and II, by James — Holt and 
Company. 

Outlines of Psychology, by Royce — Macmillan. 

New Psychology, by Gordy — Hinds and Noble. 

Introduction to Child Study, by Drummond — 
Edward Arnold, London. 

Heredity, by Ribot — Appleton. 

Heredity and Christian Problems, by Bradford — 
Macmillan. 

Development of the Child, by Oppenheim — Mac- 
millan. 

The Child and Religion, by Stephens — Williams 
and Norgate. 

The Child; A Study in the Evolution of Man, 
by Chamberlain — Scribners. 



282 THE ESSENTIALS OF 

The Teacher, the Child, and the Book, by 

Schauffler — Wilde Co. 
The Study of the Child, by Taylor — Appleton. 
Psychology of Childhood, by Tracy — Heath and 

Company. 
Education in Religion and Morals, by Coe — 

Revell. 
Psychology of Religious Belief, by Pratt — Mac- 

millan. 

STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY 

First Three Years of Childhood, by Perez — 
Bordeen. 

The Psychology of Religion, by Starbuck — 
Scribners. 

Adolescence, Vols. I and II, by Hall — Appleton. 

Sunday School and the Teens, by Alexander — 
Association Press. 

Talks to Teachers, by James — Holt. 

Brain and Personality, by Thompson — Dodd, 
Mead. 

Elements of Psychology, by Thorndike — Seiler. 

Elements of Child Psychology, by Baldwin Ap- 
pleton. 

Thinking, Feeling, and Doing, by Scripture — 
Putnam. 

Study in Child Nature, by Harrison — Chicago 
Kindergarten Co. 

The Boy Problem, by Forbush — Pilgrim Press. 

Modern Study of Conscience, by Huckel — Win- 
ston Press. 

Habit in Education, by Radestock — Heath. 

Religion in Boyhood, by Loyard — Dutton. 



RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 283 



PREPARATION AND TEACHING 

The Art of Teaching, by White — American Book 
Company. 

The Making of a Teacher, by Brumbaugh — Sun- 
day School Times Co. 

On Teaching, by Calderwood — Macmillan. 

The Seven Laws of Teaching, by Gregory — The 
Pilgrim Press. 

Primer on Teaching, by Adams — H. T. Clark. 

Training of the Twig, by Drawbridge — Long- 
mans, Green & Co. 

Teaching, by Payne — American Book Company. 

The Front Line of the Sunday School, Move- 
ment, by Peloubet — Wilde Company. 

Interest and Education, by DeGarmo — Macmil- 
lan. 

Teaching and Teacher, by Trumbull — Scribners. 

Point of Contact in Teaching, by Dubois — Dodd 
Mead & Company. 

Art of Questioning, by Fitch — Kellogg & Com- 
pany. 

Successful, Teaching, by Greenwood — Funk & 
Wagnalls. 

Teacher and Child, by Mark — Revell. 

Yale Lectures on Teaching, by Trumbull — Scrib- 
ners. 

The Art of Teaching, by Fitch — Barnes. 

Pictures and Picture Work, by Hervey — Revell. 

Art of Securing Attention, by Fitch — Barnes. 

How to Hold Attention, by Hughes — Barnes. 

How to Keep Order, by Hughes — Barnes. 

Adult Classes, by Wood — Pilgrim Press. 



284 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 

THE BIBLE SCHOOL 

Ways of Working, by Schauffler — Wilde & Com- 
pany. 

Sunday School in Principle and Practice, by 
Cope — Revell. 

How to Teach a Sunday School Lesson, by Cor- 
mack — Revell. 

How to Conduct a Sunday School, by Lawrance 

— Revell. 

Sunday School Movements in America, by Brown 

— Revell. 

Introduction and Use of International Graded 
Lessons ; General Manual, by Winchester — 
The Pilgrim Press. 

Sunday School Graded, by McKinney — Westmin- 
ster Press. 

Graded Sunday School in Principle and Prac- 
tice, by Meyer — Westminster Press. 

The Pedagogical Bible School, by Haslett — 
Revell. 

Modern Methods in Sunday School Work, by 
Mead — Dodd Mead & Co. 

Modern Sunday School, by Vincent — Eaton and 
Mains. 

Bible School Curriculum, by Pease — University 
of Chicago Press. 

Higher Criticism and Monuments, by Sayce — So- 
ciety for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Adaptation, 205. 
Adolescent, The, 167-187. 
Agricola, Rudolph, 68. 
Alcuin, 55. 
Anger, 177. 
Apperception, 130. 
Arrangement, 257. 
Art, 220; Greek, 42. 
Ascham, Roger, 83. 
Assemblies, 112. 
Attention, 121, 206, 262. 

Bacon, Francis, 85. 

Basedow, John, 96. 

Bible, The, 77, 222 ; Study, 
224. 

Bibliography, 279 ; Scope 
of Religious Education, 
279; History of Reli- 
gious Education, 280; 
studies, in Psychology 
281 ; Preparation and 
Teaching, 283; Bible 
School, 284. 

Biography, 220. 

Body and Mind, 117. 

Brain, The, 118. 



Calvin, John, 80. 



287 



Charlemagne, Reforms of, 
54. 

Childhood, Early, 146; 
Later, 156. 

Christianity, relation of to 
Roman Education, 50 ; 
growth of, 51. 

Christian, 187. 

Church, 14, 234. 

Comenius, John Amos, 89. 

Common life, Brethren of, 
67. 

Conception, 125. 

Connecting Links, 213. 

Conscience, 176. 

Conventions, 112. 

Conwell, Russell H., Intro- 
duction by. 

Curiosity, 162. 

Dependence, 152. 
Development, Compara- 
tive, 133. 
Devotional, 233. 
Discussion, Groups, 202. 

Education, definition, 1-7; 
Assyrian, 22 ; Babylon- 



288 



INDEX 



ian, 23; Buddhistic, 34; 
Chinese, 20 ; condition 
of, 72; Egyptian, 18; 
Ezra, 25; female, 29; 
Hellenic, 41; Hindus, 
30 ; Medo-Persian, 36 ; 
medieval, 52 ; religious, 
7-8, 155, 164, 185; ref- 
ormation of, 71; Ro- 
mans, 4-5 ; Transient 
Period, 51. 

Erasmus, 69. 

Ernesti, Johann, 97. 

Environment, 142. 

Examples, 214. 

Faults, 172. 
Fear, 153. 
Feeling, 123. 
Francke, August, 92. 
Friendship, 171. 
Froebel, Freidrich, 100. 

Geography, 221. 

Graded Courses, Summary, 
270; purpose, 270; Be- 
ginners, 271 ; Primary, 
271; Junior, 272; In- 
termediate, 273; Senior, 
274; Adult, 276; The 
Future, 278. 

Growth, 146, 158, 168- 
170. 

Habit, 129. 

Herbart, Jean Frederic, 
102. 



Heredity, Physical, 137; 

intellectual, 138; moral, 

141. 
History, 219. 
Home, 12. 
Humor, 161. 
Huss, John, 64. 

Ideal, The, 192. 
Ignorance, 224. 
Illustrations, 217. 
Imagination, 126, 149, 160, 

170. 
Individuality, 1 70. 
Institutes, 112. 
Instinct, Collecting, 163. 
Intelligibility, 215. 
Interest, 261. 

Jews, 23. 
Judgment, 129. 

Knowing, 123. 

Language, 154. 

Learning, Revival of, 
65. 

Lessons, Graded, 264, 267; 
adaptable, 268 ; educa- 
tional, 268; permanent, 
269; Biblical, 269; uni- 
form, 2164 ; criticism, 
264. 

Locke, John, 91. 



INDEX 



289 



Luther, Martin, 74. 
Luther and Education, 76. 
Luther's Catechisms, 77. 

Melanchthon, Philip, 79. 
Memory, 126, 149, 160. 
McMurry's, Suggestion, 

209. 
Methods, Historical, 228; 

literature, 229 ; word 

studies, 232. 
Milton, John, 87. 
Montaigue, Michel de, 84. 
Movements, Pre-reforma- 

tion, 63. 
Music, 258; Greek, 42. 

Nature, 219. 
Nerves, The, 119. 

Object, The, 193. 
Obedience, 260. 
Order, 253. 

Pastor, 234. 
Patience, 189. 
Perception, 124. 
Pestalozzi, John Henry, 

98. 
Plans, Life, 178. 
Play Traits, 147, 176. 
Poetry, Greek, 43. 
Positive, 191. 
Prayer, 198. 
Preparation and Teaching, 

196. 



Psychology, Principles of, 
116; definition, 116, 
117; and Religious Edu- 
cation, 130. 

Punctuality, 253. 

Pupil, The, 198. 

Questions and Illustra- 
tions, 211. 
Questions, 212. 

Rabelais, 82. 
Raikes Movement, 104. 
Ratich, Wolfgang, 87. 
Reading and Helps, 202. 
Reformation, Religious 

and Educational, 73. 
Religious Life, 180. 
Renaissance, Italy and 

Germany, 66. 
Reuchlin, John, 68. 
Rousseau, Jean, 94. 
Review, 208. 
Rewards, 210. 

Savonarola, Jerome, 65. 

Schools, Benedictine, 52 ; 
the Superintendent, 

237 ; Vice-Superintend- 
ent, 240 ; Department 
Superintendents, 240 ; 
Secretary, 241 ; Treas- 
urer, 241 ; Librarian, 
242; departments, 243; 
Cradle Roll, 244 ; Begin- 
ners' Class, 244; Pri- 



290 



INDEX 



mary Department, 244; 
Junior Class, 245; In- 
termediate, 245; Senior, 
245 ; Adult, 248 ; Home, 
250; Missionary, 250; 
Temperance, 251; Cate- 
chetical, 47; Cathedral, 
53; Palace, 55; Public, 
8, 9; Sunday Schools, 
American, 109; Jesuit, 
80. 

Self, 150. 

Scholasticism, Rise of, 57. 

Sources, 218. 

Spencer, Herbert, 103. 

Step by Step, 199. 

Student, 188. 

Study, 197. 

Suggestions from others, 
203. 

Sympathy, 178. 

System, 207. 



Teachers' Meetings, 242 ; 
Training Class, 251. 

Teaching, Essential Princi- 
ples, 205. 

Thought, Stream of, 120. 

Universities, The Early, 
61 ; Privileges, disci- 
pline and studies, 62. 

Variety, 208. 
Ventilation, 256. 

Waldenses, 64. 
Wesel, John, 67. 
Wyclif, John, 64. 
Willing, 123. 

Youth, 169. 

Zwingli, Ulrich, 80. 



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